Half a House
by lawless
Summary: By will, Megumi is heir to her grandfather's fortune, one one condition: she must share the house with Sano for four months or everything goes to charity. But can two people who can't stand each other live under the same roof?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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Eight hundred fifty-six million yen. That was the total liquid assets left by the late Dr. Oguni Genzai. On top of that, his Last Will and Testament also mentioned controlling stocks in Chouju Hospital and a rather large house in Aizu. The lawyer next narrated the taxes and fees to be deducted from the total estate and Takani Megumi bore through the dry, legalese, all the while wishing for a cigarette. She quit only four days ago. Four days, thirteen hours and twenty-eight minutes, to be exact. She had never wanted a cigarette more than at that moment.

Dr. Oguni Genzai was the only family that Megumi had ever known. She had lost both her parents at an early age but the good doctor had practically raised her as his own daughter and later inspired her love of medicine through his own work. It had been a dream they shared to someday work together at Chouju Hospital, which had always been run by their family for generations back, but that dream was shattered when Megumi received the call three weeks ago, telling her that her grandfather had passed away. She had been involved in a six-hour surgical procedure then and could not leave; her grief had to be postponed until she made it home.

Now, she had recovered from the emotional shock of losing the last living member of her family but she had not stopped grieving and never would. This whole business about dividing her grandfather's estate was distasteful to her. She never would have come if the lawyer had not said that her grandfather had been most emphatic about it. Megumi was his last surviving heir. He wanted everything he had to pass on to her.

Megumi gave a sigh and tried to focus her attention back to the attorney. Something he said caught her fancy. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that, Aburakoji-san?"

The lawyer paused, then went over the document again. "'To my granddaughter, Takani Megumi, I leave the rest of my assets, including all my stocks in the Chouju Hospital.'"

"No, I mean the last one."

"'…. The house in Aizu I leave to Takani Megumi and Sagara Sanosuke, share and share alike.'"

"What?" Megumi was confused.

"Sagara-san was the one who took care of your grandfather when he was very ill," the lawyer explained.

"Yes, I know that," Megumi admitted, not without guilt. She knew Sagara Sanosuke, of course. The ex-juvenile delinquent whom her grandfather had taken under his wing and allowed to live under his roof. He and she never got along well, even though she knew that Dr. Genzai had favored him. Now she was ashamed to find out that the boy she had figured for a money-grubbing punk who preyed on the affections of an old man was the last person to be with her grandfather before he died. "Why do I have to share the house with him? I mean, I think that, with everything that Sagara-san has done for my grandfather, it's only right that he should receive the entire thing."

The lawyer was wearing pinched look in his face. "Please, Takani-sensei, may I finish?"

Despite her misgivings, Megumi nodded and bit the inside of her lip.

"'…. The house in Aizu I leave to Takani Megumi and Sagara Sanosuke, share and share alike on the condition --" Here, the lawyer paused and sent a significant look in Megumi's direction " -- that three days from the first reading of this Last Will and Testament, Sanosuke and Megumi will move into my house in Aizu to live and stay there for a period of four months, neither one spending more than two nights in succession under another roof. After the lapse of the four-month period, their respective shares in the estate shall revert to them, without diminution.'"

"'In case of renunciation or failure to comply with this condition within the twelve-month period, the said assets, including my stocks in the Chouju Hospital, shall be sold in public auction and the proceeds donated to the Enichiji Temple.'"

For a whole minute, Megumi could only stare, dumbfounded with shock.

Aburakoji took this opportunity to straighten his papers. He was halfway finished when Megumi uttered the first coherent words that entered her mind:

"That old bastard!"

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TBC

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**AN** Shorter chapters, faster updates. I call this one "fic"sturbating, if you get my meaning. No, it's not prOn. Rather than with the contents, the word has something to do with the amount of effort put into this and the kind of high I'm getting.


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2**

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* * *

**

"Took ya long enough! These all your things?"

For a moment, Megumi did not recognize Sagara Sanosuke. She was standing in the platform of the Yamagata Shinkansen Line, having just disembarked from her train and scanning the crowd when a tall guy suddenly approached her from the side and grabbed hold of her luggage. She had to blink twice before placing him and then the surprise she felt brought an unexpected smile to her face.

"Sanosuke!" She exclaimed. His hair was longer, thicker, and he was sporting an unkempt-looking beard under his chin, but it was Sagara Sanosuke, all right. There was no mistaking the crassness of his greeting.

"For a minute there I thought ya were gonna start yellin' 'thief!'" He said. His smile did not flash into existence. It spread slowly, easily across his face. "'s been years, _kitsune_."

_Kitsune_. Fox. Mostly a derogatory term and it used to drive her insane but it had become so much a part of their vocabulary as to be just another harmless nickname. Like _toriatama_, which was what she liked to call him when he was being particularly idiotic.

"Lemme look at ya," Sanosuke continued. And with a grin carefully designed to look like a leer, he boldly checked her out.

She smirked. She was not averse to people admiring her for her looks and despite everything, she was really quite pleased to see him. It was nice to see a familiar face, someone who knew exactly what she was going through because he felt it, too. They both had been very close to Dr. Genzai and despite the lack of blood relationship, they were, for all intents and purposes, family.

"Put on a li'l weight, did ya?"

His words were like cold water dousing fire. Megumi's eyebrow twitched as she shot him a dirty look. Sano only grinned wider, waiting for her next words, but instead of doing as he anticipated, she flipped her hair back and started walking.

"Oh c'mon. Ya can do a hella lot better than merely stompin' off," he goaded after her.

Megumi smiled, shaking her head, then she turned to him and said, "You may be right, _toriatama_. But I really can't take you seriously with that goat's tuft on your face."

Instantly, he ran a hand along his chin and laughed. Then he said, "Come along," and led Megumi to the waiting car.

Except that it wasn't a car.

Megumi stared at the vehicle with disbelief written all over her face. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

It was a tractor. A very old, very dilapidated one. People stared at it like it was a thing alive.

Sanosuke shrugged. "The car broke down last week. Wouldn't start. Had to take it to the shop. I borrowed this from Kenshin so I could pick ya up."

"You could've borrowed his car. I know he has one."

"Well, _jou-chan_'s far along the way. Figured didn't wanna inconvenience them when they havta rush off to the hospital any day now."

Right. She'd almost forgotten about that. She'd only been home for one day for the funeral service and had been too preoccupied to even see Sanosuke (let alone talk with him) but she did find out about two major details in her best friend's life: Kaoru was married and pregnant. "You still could have borrowed somebody else's car," Megumi insisted, brushing her hair back in annoyance. "Anything's preferable to this."

"What the hell," Sano exclaimed. "If you're so hell-bent on that, you're welcome to walk."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sanosuke."

That clearly didn't please him. His mouth moved but no words came out.

That was much better, Megumi thought. Other than the obvious physical changes, if there was one perceptible transformation in Sagara Sanosuke she'd picked up right off the bat, it was his newfound self-assurance. A far cry from the sulking, loudly temperamental youth she'd known before. The more laidback attitude that was a product of that confidence made him seem like a stranger at first. So it was nice to know that some things hadn't changed.

"Ya gettin' in or what?" He soon asked, impatience and irritation coloring his voice.

"Give me a boost up, will you?" Without another word, he hoisted her up the tractor. "If my underwear turns you on, that's your problem," she said, opening the door and crawling into the small space inside. "How are we supposed to fit in here?"

"Stick your legs out of the window," Sanosuke cheerfully suggested when he came up beside her.

"Are you insane?"

"On second thought, I don't think you'd want people to know you're wearing strawberry-patterned panties under that very proper lady's dress."

"You're hilarious, _toriatama_."

"That's a step up. You didn't think so before." He grinned. "Hey, scoot further over there."

Megumi did as told but also muttered, "God, you men are so predictable. Flash you a pair of knickers and you go stupid."

Sanosuke slid in beside her. "Don't flatter yourself, _kitsune_. You're not my type."

One sleek, jet-black eyebrow shot up. He was lying, of course. If she knew herself at all and her effect on men in general, she was everyman's type.

"I don't go for older women," he added.

Well! That was…. Megumi could feel her face going red. She saw Sano's look then - the triumphant, utterly mocking expression of one who just delivered a particularly lethal blow below the belt. She'd never felt more loathing than she did at that moment. Dammit, she was only two years older!

"All set?" He asked with an innocent smile.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Yes, but first, could you move aside your boner, please?"

The color drained from his face, then returned fast and hot enough to stain his cheeks. "That's my belt buckle!" He hissed.

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- TBC

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**AN **Yes, quick, quick. But not too quick or I'll lose steam. A once a week update should be okay from now on, right?

**(updated 07/17/2010)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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The drive from the airport to the house was long and quiet. For Megumi, the silence was not unwelcome. It had been more than six years since she had last come home to Aizu. The city had changed a lot (as cities were wont to do) but the countryside, she found, remained essentially the same. Those were the same rice paddies, drifting lazily past them, she had seen in childhood, the same distant rolling hills.

"The house hasn't changed much either." Sanosuke's voice drifted towards her, strangely quiet.

She turned to look at his profile. He had changed. Not just in looks. There was a stillness in him that she had never seen before. Was it grief? Or just years of growing up? She wasn't sure.

"Your grandfather," he continued, "he insisted on keeping everythin' as they were. The previous spring, repairs had to be done 'coz of the frost. Some of the thatch rotted off and things had to be replaced, but the old man wanted ya to know this was still your home. So he tried to keep everythin' look the same."

After some length, Megumi asked, "Were you with him when he went away?"

"…yeah."

"How…" She started but had to swallow the sudden lump in her throat, "how did he go?"

"It was…a good death. I mean he looked happy, y'know?"

Happy. Was he? She hoped to God he was. Or how could she forgive herself? "Thank you," she said softly.

Sanosuke took his eyes from the road for a moment to glance at her. "For what?"

"For staying with him."

"Y'know he was like a father to me, right?"

"Even so, I thank you."

Sanosuke gazed ahead, mute. And then: "You're welcome."

They lapsed into silence. It was not unusual. Except for the bond they shared with Dr. Genzai, she and Sanosuke had nothing in common and had even less to talk about now that the same man was gone. But they had to talk, thought Megumi restlessly. If not this moment, then soon.

The condition of the will was for Megumi to spend four months living with a man she could not stand in order to inherit a fortune. The money she did not need but the hospital was everything to her. She could not give it up without betraying her grandfather and everything that he stood for. That the old man chose to play a joke on her by asking her to do this, knowing that she had virtually no choice, was beside the point. What she was worried about was Sagara Sanosuke. She simply was not sure of him. Was he in it for the money or his genuine affection for the man who was, as he said, 'like a father to him?' If it was the former, it would be easier. She could offer to buy him out. But if it was the latter, then she was going to have to find a way to live with him. Or around him. She looked at him again and quietly assured herself that it was a big enough house. It just had to be.

"Are you by any chance thinkin' 'bout how to make my life miserable for the next four months?" Sanosuke casually asked. He must have noticed her staring at him and found it amusing.

Glad for the unexpected opener, Megumi smirked. "And if I was?"

"I'm way ahead of ya, _kitsune_."

"We'll see."

He laughed. "Eight years livin' in Tokyo? You're a city girl now. Believe me, you're in for some homecoming."

"So eager to start the game, are we?"

"What game?" He looked confused.

Megumi was about to make a biting a retort but seeing his expression, she glanced away instead. "Never mind." Well, it looked like there _was_ something she was sure about Sagara Sanosuke: he was incapable of scheming. He was too simple for that. Not stupid maybe. Just…simple.

The drive went uneventfully for several minutes after that. They lapsed into another not uncomfortable silence. The road disappeared into a bend. However, before Sanosuke could make the turn, the sound of sirens caught his attention. A quick look in the rearview mirror revealed the source.

"Goddamnit," he cursed, starting to pull over to the shoulder of the road.

"What is it?" Megumi asked.

"Cops."

"Are we in trouble?"

Sanosuke did not answer. The uniformed police officer appeared and ordered them both to get down. He was lean-faced and amber-eyed and he seemed completely without a sense of humor. Sanosuke greeted him like they knew each other. Saitou Hajime did not return the greeting. "License and registration, please."

"I got my license right here but listen, Saitou," Sanosuke started but the officer interrupted him.

"You don't have the registration."

"See, that's what I'm tryin' to say. My car broke down and I had to pick up Megumi here. She's old Genzai's granddaughter. And well, y'know the airport's a long way off from the farm…"

"…so you had to use the tractor," Saitou finished for him.

"Yes."

Saitou stared hard at Sanosuke for several seconds without saying a word. And then, he glanced over at Megumi. "Is that true, Miss?"

Megumi, who had never even run a traffic light, nodded nervously.

Saitou sighed. "All right."

"All right?" Sanosuke looked relieved. "So you're lettin' us off the hook this time?"

"No, you imbecile," Saitou said pointedly, his face not betraying the smirk in his eyes. "You're both coming with me to precinct."

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TBC

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**AN** This chapter shaped up quicker than I thought.

Thank you for all your favorable reviews. I'm glad that some of you still remember me. Because you asked, some of my old fanfics do exist in my livejournal account where you can read them but I'm sorry to say that I haven't gotten around to uploading everything and I don't think I'll ever get around to it. It's not really laziness (although I am quite lazy when it comes to those things). It's just that I don't really like to revisit my stories and go through all that again. I keep some stories online only because I do like to refer to them from time to time if only to pick up a nice little phrasing that I randomly thought up and reuse it in another story.

It has occurred to me to write a fanfic contained in the same universe as my other existing fanfics but the story never seems to shape up and the characterization turns out wrong that I just give up. No. I will not be writing any sequels or prequels or whatever to any of my fanfics. If you want to, feel free to do so. And there is no need to credit me.

Once again, thank you. And the next chapter might come sooner than expected.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4

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**

As it turned out, contrary to what he said, Saitou did not bring them to precinct. But he did fine Sanosuke, issued him a ticket and then subjected him to a breath test on the premise that Sanosuke had been caught drunk-driving before. To Megumi, who knew all about antagonizing Sanosuke, Saitou's methods were not unfamiliar.

By the time they made it to old Genzai's house, it was almost evening. Megumi was exhausted. She had earlier sent her supplies and provisions by Takuhaibin but she still had two suitcases with her. Sanosuke, who had worked himself up into a silent fury, merely headed straight for the house without offering to lend a hand. Her annoyance mounting, she followed after him with the intention of giving him a piece of her mind, but the sight of the house arrested her.

Oguni Genzai had a fondness for _minka_ so he bought one of that design with a hip and gable roof style commonly associated with Buddhist shrines and castles and very rarely with folk dwellings. The original construction dated back to the late 17th century, during the Edo Period, and indeed, the house still had the core rooms of traditional _minka_: a plank-floored _ima_ or sitting room and the adjacent _doma_, which doubled as an entryway and kitchen workspace. In the past, the _doma_ also provided a place for drying grain during rainy weather but with mechanized farming, that proved to be too narrow a space to store all the grain, so a barn was built some time ago which took care of that problem. Now the _doma_ was mainly used as an entryway and came equipped with a _getabako_ for storing shoes and slippers. The _rouka_, a wooden-floored hallway that circled the edges of the house and sheltered from the weather by extended roofs, completed the whole structure.

Sanosuke's figure appeared in the doorway. "Ya comin' in or what?"

"Could you help me with my things, please," she asked, her accent sounding haughty even to her own ears.

"I would, if ya get that _ojou-san_ tone from your voice," he only said. He was still simmering from his encounter with Saitou but at least he was talking.

Megumi decided not to provoke him any further and simply asked, "Did my boxes from Tokyo arrive?"

"Yeah." Despite what he said, he stalked forward and grabbed hold of Megumi's luggage. Then, with a suitcase in each hand, he reentered the house. She followed him, pausing to remove her shoes at the _doma_ and putting on a pair of house slippers.

Everything looked immaculately clean from the inside. The housekeeper must be new. Mariko Obaa-san, although quite jolly, was really not very good at her job. In the past, the place had been all dust and dirt in the corners. Not like this one.

"Who's the new housekeeper?" Megumi wondered, placing her handbag on a table in the first room from the entry way.

"No one," came Sanosuke's succinct reply from the next room. He emerged a second later, saying, "Kaoru used ta come in every weekend to help clean up the place when old Genzai was sick. But she stopped comin' 'coz of the baby."

Megumi nodded. She would thank Kaoru in good time. Meanwhile, they were going to have to hire someone on a permanent basis.

"I put your things in your old room," Sanosuke continued. "An' if you're hungry, there's dinner."

Megumi glanced behind her and saw the covered pots and dishes in the corner on top of the old furnace next to the refrigerator. "You cooked?" For some reason, that was hilarious.

"Nothin' fancy," Sanosuke said.

"I would hardly expect that" was the dry retort to which Sano only lifted his upper lip in a silent snarl. "What happened to Mrs. Seikihara?" That was the name of old Genzai's cook.

"She left years ago. One of her twin daughters -- you remember Tae -- had opened a restaurant in the city and it's doing really well. Mrs. Seikihara doesn't have to work anymore."

So the housekeeper was gone, the cook, too. Megumi mentally calculated. That left only the workers at the farm. But they all lived in their own houses and came only in the day to perform their respective tasks, then, at sunset, they left again. "But that means…" Her words trailed off as for the first time she realized just how inconvenient the next four months was going to be.

Sanosuke was grinning. "Wanna give up, kitsune?"

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TBC

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**AN** The purpose of this chapter is to present a physical description of the place where most of the story and character interactions are going to take place. Also, further elaboration on the characters' living arrangements. This will be the last update for a while.

GLOSSARY:

Takuhaibin - a door-to-door delivery service in Japan; I just randomly pulled off the name from the internet as I don't think FedEx would cut it

minka - a Japanese traditional house associated mainly with farmer class folks; they aren't grand like houses of samurai class but some of them are quite beautiful and could rival some of the best samurai mansions

ima / i-ma - minka is basically composed of only two rooms: the ima (literally, living space), a raised floor covered with mats and divided into separate partitions by fusuma (portable screen doors of paper and wood) and the doma, which is an entryway, much like a porch; but in minka, the doma is also a kitchen and storage space for grain and farming tools, etc.

getabako - a shoe shelf

rouka - I used to confuse this with engawa but it's not an engawa (which is more like a balcony) but a hallway located outside the house and sheltered by from rain by extended roofs

ojou-san - literally means 'young lady;' used here as the daughter of the master of the house, used by Sanosuke in derogation because Megumi seemed to be talking to him like he was a servant


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5

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**

Megumi was having a fitful sleep when someone loud and brash abruptly pulled the blanket from over her head and let the full blast of sunrise assault her senses.

"RISE AND SHINE!"

"Go away, damn you!" Megumi groaned and muttered angrily as she tried to burrow deeper under the pillows.

"Oh no you don't!" That same someone pulled the pillow from under her head and then proceeded to lift the _futon_ with her on it, forcing her to roll off to the cold floor. "C'mon, lazybones! D'ya always wake up this late?"

"Not true," she argued sleepily. "Just don't like to be woken up." Especially in such an ill-mannered way.

"That's a useful tip." His voice was grinning. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You're too fucking cheerful," she grumbled.

"Wake up!"

"I'm awake, dammit. Stop shouting in my ear." Megumi took a moment before she sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Sanosuke chuckled. She glared at him. He was grinning like an idiot. "Rule Number One, _toriatama_," she said, completely awake now and feeling the first stirrings of irritation, "you DO NOT come to my room."

His grin did not vanish. "Fine." He shrugged. "I only came here anyway to tell ya it's your turn with the cooking today." At Megumi's raised brow, he said with some satisfaction, "Rule Number Two, _kitsune-onna_, we take turns with the kitchen work."

If that was how he wanted to play it, well! Megumi thought furiously, staring at the dirty dishes left on the sink. Sanosuke had left the house earlier, after eating the quick breakfast that Megumi made. He said that he was headed to the ricemill to get the season's last harvest hulled and ready for storage. She resented the fact that he seemed to expect her to clean up after him. Megumi had three hours to marinate on thoughts of sweet revenge when the lunch hour struck and Sanosuke returned, smelling of sweat and sun.

"What's for lunch, _kitsune_?" were the first words that were out of his mouth when he entered the _doma_. His eyes were immediately drawn to the dirty dishes still in the sink, just as he left them.

"I've already eaten," said Megumi, sitting in a corner, book on her lap.

Sanosuke sat down on the edge of the raised floor and began removing his boots.

"I forgot to tell you about Rule Number Three," Megumi continued with a saccharine smile. "If one does the cooking, the other does the dishes."

"Okay."

That was…too easy. Megumi felt like a balloon deflating. His nonchalance was getting on her nerves. "You say that now, but you like to cheat," she tried further.

His voice went cool, his tone very round. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"S_hogi. Go. Hanafuda_," she enumerated with a relish, "Tests. Chores." She emphasized the last one.

"You're just mad 'coz ya never won a game against me," he said with a cocky grin.

"Because you cheated!" She countered furiously.

"Somebody sounds bitter."

She glowered. Then just as suddenly as her anger descended, it went away. Now, she smiled sweetly. "Rule Number Four."

"What, ya just spent the whole mornin' thinkin' up of new rules to impose?"

She ignored him. "Rule Number Four," she said again, "in addition to our rooms, we each have our own spaces in this house."

"Why not just draw a line while you're at it?" He mockingly suggested. "My half, your half."

"You are an idiot, Sanosuke," she said with infinite calm. Then before he could say anything, she launched into a speech, "The way this house is built, you can't move around without passing through the other rooms. No. What I mean is that we respect each other's spaces. If I'm in this room and I'm busy, you turn around and go your own merry way, but you don't disturb me."

"By all means," he said. "You can use the _washitsu_ or whatever room you prefer. But," he held up a hand, "the _rouka_ stays neutral."

"Fine."

"Fine."

The terms of their engagement now laid out and agreed upon, the two of them made their separate ways. Megumi to take her textbooks and reviewers out of their boxes. Sanosuke to eat his lunch and go back to work in the farm. Both of them thought that if they just kept everything in neat little compartments like this, four months of living together may not be so hard after all.

Both of them were wrong.

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TBC

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**AN** washitsu - a traditional Japanese room; most houses in Japan have this kind of room


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6

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**

"What the hell is this?" Megumi murmured as she curiously fingered one of many shirts and pieces of clothing hanging on a clothesline all across the _rouka_.

"They happen to belong to me," Sanosuke spoke lazily from near the _koi_ pond.

Megumi turned and stared at him incredulously. "What in god's name are you doing?" It was pouring, which explained the clothes hanging in the _rouka_ to dry. But that did not explain Sanosuke puttering about in the garden, his soaked shirt clinging to his lean muscles like second skin. And the rainwater must be freezing this late in fall.

"Taking a rain bath," he answered still in the same lazy tone.

"You are demented," she told him. In answer, he splashed some water in her way. "And a child!" She added angrily because he caught her unawares with that attack.

"You're just mad 'cause you can't get back at me."

Megumi looked down at him through her nose and said with dignity, "I will not be coerced into playing a foolish game."

"You sound exactly like my third grade teacher," he taunted, laughing.

"Whatever happened to the _rouka_ being neutral ground?" She only asked, ignoring him but good. "What am I looking at? More importantly, why am I looking at them?" She had merely intended to move them aside so she could pass but all of a sudden the line came loose and the laundry fell, several of them ending up on the muddy ground.

"You did that on purpose!" Sanosuke shouted. He hadn't seen what happened. He only saw his clothes fall and Megumi standing there.

"No, I didn't," she denied.

"Yes, you did." He started forward and began furiously picking up each of the dirty clothes from the ground. He dumped them all in an empty pail, glaring up at Megumi when he finished. "Rule Number Five," he snarled, "if one of us decides to play roughhouse, the other better be ready for the payback."

"Is that a threat?" She asked haughtily.

"It's a promise, Megumi."

But three days passed without Sanosuke trying anything. Empty words, she thought as she settled on her _futon_ that evening. Half an hour earlier, dinner had been relatively uneventful. Sanosuke ate quietly and talked (when spoken to) about the weather and the food, and sometimes about the farm -- the five-acre piece of land that was mostly rice paddies and plots of vegetables. During the conversation, it occurred to Megumi that, even when her grandfather was still alive, he had already left Sanosuke basically in charge. She also did not miss the fact that in four months, she would be signing a document that would make everything, including the farm that Sanosuke obviously loved, hers. It was an ace up her sleeve but one that she did not particularly savor.

"Sanosuke," she said the next morning, breezing inside one of the rooms where she thought she saw him enter, then making a quick U-turn because she walked in on him while he happened to be naked.

"Ever heard of knocking?" He asked.

"Not when the _fusuma_ is open," she retorted.

"Rule Number Six," he said as he pulled on his pants and shrugged on a shirt, "no walking in on people in their private moments."

She waited a minute, then said, "If I turn around, would you be decent?"

"Now there's a question. I'm a pretty indecent guy."

Megumi turned around and saw that he was, after all, fully clothed. She raised an eyebrow then looked him in the face. His hair, wet from the shower, fell across his forehead, making his eyes look darker than they should and, oddly, attractive. "I want to declare a truce."

"Here we go," he said cynically, crossing his arms and leaning negligently against a post. "What's it gonna cost me this time, _kitsune_?"

"Nothing," she replied. She gazed at a spot on the wall. "As a matter of fact, you'll even gain something." He narrowed his eyes at her but let her continue. "In four months, when this is all over, I'll give you my share of the house."

"Just like that," he said dubiously, studying her. She gave a slight smile. If anything, that made him even more suspicious. "What makes ya think I want this house?"

"You don't want it?" She challenged.

"I didn't say that."

"Then what's the problem?" She wondered.

"The problem, _kitsune_," he began, taking two steps forward. But if it was his intention to intimidate her, he was sorely disappointed. She never flinched. He stood right in her personal space. "The deal is so sweet there has to be a catch."

She shook her head and stared up at him. "There's no catch, _toriatama_. I'll give you the house."

He believed her and would have verbally agreed to the plan when something occurred to him and his expression changed. He began chuckling softly and said with not a little wonder, "You're scared."

Megumi felt the heat rise up her cheeks. "I have no idea what you're babbling about."

Unperturbed by her futile display of innocence, he reached forward and chucked her gently on the chin. It was a purely friendly gesture -- brotherly, even, but something, a frisson, went through her, making her suddenly very aware of his closeness. She took a step back without making it look like a retreat.

"I never thought I'd ever see the day," Sanosuke murmured. She started to shake her head but he continued, grinning this time, "You're scared I'd pour ink on your clothes or put somethin' in your food. You're so scared you're tryin' to bribe me just to make me stop."

"You didn't." Megumi went pale with dread at the thought that he might have actually….

"No," he quickly dispelled her of that notion. But then he shrugged and added, "Actually, I forgot all about it, until you reminded me."

She went paler. "You wouldn't." But he only laughed and sauntered away.

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TBC

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**AN** fusuma - paper and wood screen doors to separate rooms inside a minka house; distinguish from shoji which are also made of paper and wood but are used to separate the rouka from the interior of the house

Next update is next week.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7

* * *

**

When two purposeful people worked with a purpose and kept to themselves (purposely) the whole time, they could manage to accomplish all their purposes without once bumping into each other. This was true, even if said two people lived in the same house. It was a showcase of wills but when a full two weeks later one of them received news about a common friend, he forgot all about the silent feud (if he was even aware of it) and knocked on the door to the _washitsu_.

Megumi was napping when she heard Sanosuke's knock. She quickly rose, fixed her hair and then opened her thick medical book to a random page. "Come in," she called regally.

He was grinning excitedly when he entered. "It's a boy," he said apropos of nothing.

Megumi blinked. "Sorry, but what on earth are you talking about?"

"Kaoru's baby!"

Of course, Megumi had not forgotten. It was in the back of her mind the whole time. It was just that she was a little distracted during these past two weeks. The board examination that would make her a full, registered M.D. was in five months. She had to study for that. And then there was also her grandfather's will, her current living arrangements, Sagara Sanosuke…. There was just a lot in her mind.

The drive from old Genzai's house up on the hills to Chouju Hospital in Aizu-Wakamatsu went smoothly. At least, no cop tried to pull them over. When the two of them arrived in the hospital suite where Kaoru was admitted, their presence was more than welcome. The proud parents had decided on a name for the baby. Himura Kenji looked exactly like his father but with his mother's more volatile temperament.

"Psst, Megumi," Kaoru discreetly whispered to her while the tight little bundle of red hair distracted the two men in the room. The father was especially glowing. Sanosuke looked mostly confused. "So tiny," he kept saying.

Megumi approached the bed and took a seat on the chair nearby. She waited expectantly.

"Did something happen between you and Sano?" Kaoru went direct to the point.

Megumi drew back in slight alarm. "What do you mean?" Was it obvious? Was what obvious? Nothing happened!

"Megumi," Kaoru was looking at her strangely, "Sano's got a black eye."

"Oh," she said, noting for the first time the dark, reddish tinge on Sanosuke's cheekbone, just below his right eye. She did not have the slightest idea how that happened. "I haven't the slightest idea how that happened," she repeated herself aloud.

At the same time, Sanosuke was explaining, "It was the stupidest thing." He then proceeded to relate the story to Kenshin about how he was in the back of the bathroom of old Genzai's house and was surprised by something and accidentally bumped his head against a pillar.

Kenshin nodded sagely, then asked, "But what was it you saw that surprised you so much?"

Sanosuke went bright red all of a sudden. "Oh, that…uh…nothin.' Nothin.' It was nothin.'" And laughed shakily.

Kenshin understood at once and gave his friend a look. "Sano…"

"Oh, wow, look at the time!" Sanosuke abruptly said, voice loud, making a great show of checking his watch and then moving to deposit the baby back in Kenshin's arms. "Megumi, we gotta go. I gots to pick up the fertilizer I ordered last week and you -- you have a meeting with that Takeda guy, don't ya?"

Megumi frowned. It was true that she had a meeting with Takeda Kanryuu, her grandfather's replacement at the Chouju Hospital board. But Sanosuke did not have to announce it and so rudely. What would the Himuras think, that she came there not to visit them but to conduct a business meeting. She told Sanosuke this later, while they were walking down the hallway, and he said that he panicked, so she only asked him a sensible question, "Why?"

He looked mad. Sort of. The tips of his ears were red. "None of your business, aiight?" He bit out before he took brisk strides ahead of her.

Megumi felt her own irritation rise up. A familiar feeling. "You know, Sanosuke," she said when she caught up to him, "I really think somebody dropped you on your head when you were a baby."

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TBC

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**AN** I'm not purposely trying to be fast or slow here. I'm just trying not to lose steam with this story. Anyway, because I'm sure you don't want to be redundant, instead of saying "good story, write more" or thereabouts, I'd be far more interested on what your opinion is on American Idol Season 9. I personally have my bet on Andrew Garcia for the guys, think Casey James is hot, and for the girls like Siobhan Magnus for her name. Off topic, much? Why, yes.

Making last-minute tweaks on Chapter 8. I'll have it up tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

The man behind Dr. Oguni Genzai's desk was tall and whip-thin, wore thick, rectangular glasses and a light aquamarine suit. He was talking on the phone when Megumi was ushered in so she had time to look around the office. Except for a few personal touches, this chairman of the hospital board changed nothing. So everything still appeared as Megumi remembered it the last time she was there a long time ago.

"Megumi-chan, please sit down," Takeda Kanryuu said to her after he hung up the phone. He waited until Megumi was seated before he said, "Sorry. That was Nakano-sensei from Cardiology. Had to take the call. The man has a terrible, _terrible_ god complex and is under the impression that we answer to him instead of the other way around. I try to humor him. He's a talented fellow."

Megumi resented the '-chan,' resented the patronizing tone he used. In fact, there was nothing about Takeda Kanryuu that she did not resent. Old Genzai once called him 'shifty-eyed,' and yet her grandfather chose to let this man become a member of the hospital board. What a curious turnaround.

"But I am ever so glad to see you again, Megumi-chan," Takeda continued, stretching his face into a smile. "I see you've done a lot of growing up. Quite beautiful, quite beautiful," he murmured, making no secret of looking at her figure. "And…wait, didn't I hear you have already earned your M.D.?" Megumi nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but Takeda did not let her. He said instead, "Then, I look forward to see you work here for me."

"I'm not registered yet, I'm afraid," Megumi informed, her tone civil. "But when I am, you can rest assured you'll see a lot more of me in this hospital, Takeda-san, but I won't be working for you."

Takeda took her words for what they meant and his smile visibly stiffened while his eyes went cold. "Of course, of course. Your grandfather owns the controlling shares to Chouju Hospital. You'd hardly be working for anyone. Let alone, little old me."

"I'm glad you understand."

"You will see, Megumi-_sensei_," he replied, putting emphasis on the honorific, "that I am a very understanding fellow." Then he leaned back in his chair, crossing his palms together. "Which is really more than what I can say about the august members of our board." Megumi was not sure what he meant and her face showed it. Takeda noticed and smiled.

"A lot of them -- I won't say _all_ but many of them -- believe that a woman on the chair, a young, beautiful woman, such as yourself, with her whole future in front of her will not have the, shall we say, conviction to push this hospital forward in the direction that -- "

Megumi's color rose as she leaned forward and cut his speech short with a heated, "I know what you're trying to do, Takeda-san. I'm telling you now it won't work."

He looked at her solemnly -- and blinked. "Funny," he said. "I was about to say that I told them the same exact words that you just said."

Megumi said sharply, "I don't know what you mean."

"I'm not your enemy, Megumi," he said mildly. "That's what I mean."

She was not fooled. She leaned back in her chair, her eyelids narrowed. She clenched her hands slightly, forced herself to smile. She could see that it was going to be a long talk between them and she was going to need all her arsenal.

By the time Sanosuke found Megumi alone in the chairman's office, it was almost noon. She had her back turned so he did not see her expression right away. He strode in. "Hey, Megumi, I was lookin' all over for ya. What in the --" And drew to a stop.

Her eyes were, her voice was hard. "Leave me alone." He had surprised her. She had been on the verge of crying. The encounter with Takeda Kanryuu, the office that held so much of her grandfather's, so many memories, the guilt, they all suddenly became too much at once. But she wasn't about to disgrace herself with tears so she turned against him. "Go away, Sano."

"What's happened to you?" He looked panicked. He'd never seen her like that before.

"I said go away." She turned her back again and walked over to the chair behind the desk. She took a deep breath. After a moment, she felt a warm palm tentatively touch her shoulder. She shook it off and sent him a long, cold look. "What are you doing here,_ toriatama_?"

"You're not okay," he said gently.

"I don't want you here."

"Then pretend I'm not here," he told her, "but I'm staying, _kitsune_." He was being uncharacteristically…charitable.

"You are an idiot," she accused.

But then the tears came, without her meaning to. They streamed down her cheeks quietly, she couldn't stop. She saw Sanosuke's face. He looked so lost it almost made her laugh. Almost. But he never budged. He stayed there, like he said he would, not a word or a touch but there nonetheless. He let her weep silently and when she was finished, he handed her a handkerchief.

"Just so you know, I'm only crying because I'm angry."

"I know."

"But if you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," she promised, dabbing at her face with his handkerchief.

"I know," Sano said again. He hesitated for a brief second and then moved to brush a stray strand of hair from her face.

She looked up and her mouth nearly brushed his jaw. When had he come so close? "Personally, I think it's weird that you'd carry a handkerchief around." She sniffed, taking a step to the side, away from him. "Before this, I didn't even think you owned a clean one."

He stayed where he was, staring at her. "You don't know a lotta things about me, Megumi."

She thought about that and quietly agreed.

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TBC

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**AN** Because a Megumi-centric fic is not the same without the token bad guy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9

* * *

**

The conversation with Takeda Kanryuu was all but forgotten by the end of the month. Megumi, who just finished studying for one subject in her coming exam, wanted to celebrate so she headed towards the barn, knowing that Sanosuke was there, working on something. He'd been pounding and hacking and generally making a lot of noise there the entire morning.

She arrived at the place just as he was coming out. The sight of him made her pause. Sanosuke was covered in grime and sawdust. Sweat formed a V-line down his shirtfront. Even his hair was matted and fell limply over his forehead. He looked like a farmhand. A particularly dirty one who desperately needed a bath. Just how she could find him appealing, despite all that, was beyond her.

Sanosuke must have seen the look on her face because he removed his work gloves, grabbed the square hand towel from his back pocket and started wiping his face with it. Then he eyed her from head to toe, noting the brushed hair, the light make-up, the nice dress. "Where ya goin' all dressed up like that?"

"Aizu-Wakamatsu."

"Watcha gonna do in the city?" He was still looking at her in a way that made her feel either overdressed or underdressed.

"Supplies," she said. "Groceries. _Sake_. I was hoping to borrow the car." Then she smiled, remembering why she came to him in the first place. "I finished one subject."

He looked puzzled. "Just one?" Out of seven.

She shook her head, amused. "It's Biochemistry, Sano."

"Oh," he said, sounding unimpressed. Then, he grinned and told her, "I like that."

Now it was her turn to look puzzled. "What?"

"When you call me 'Sano,'" he answered quickly, dismissively, adding, "So _sake_, huh? _Nihonshu_? Wanna know where you can get the best one around here?"

"This is Aizu, toriatama. It's _nihonshu_ country."

"No, I'm saying, I know where you can get the best _nihonshu_ in all of Aizu."

She couldn't resist. "Where?"

"Right where you're standing," he answered mysteriously.

Sanosuke learned about making rice wine from his old job as a worker at a brewery. This was before old Genzai found him and took him under his wing. When Megumi entered the barn for the first time in years, she was greeted by the sight of three large covered vats. Sano led her to one, removed the cover and showed her the contents.

"_Moromi_," he said. The main mash. He pointed to another vat. "_Koji_. We don't have a culture room so I had to improvise."

Megumi saw that he was building what looked like a small closet, small enough not to take too much space in the barn and yet large enough to fit one of the vats inside. So that was what was keeping him busy these days.

"I put some amounts of this," Sano said, tapping the vat with the _koji_ rice, "along with pure water and steamed rice every day for fifteen days into the _moromi_ and let the mixture ferment. It takes six weeks before the _sake_ is ready."

Megumi nodded, clearly impressed. He had the most unusual kinds of knowledge inside that head of his. "This is all very fascinating, Sano," she said, slanting him a smile, "but where is the booze?"

He grinned. "Ah, a woman who knows what she wants. Come over here." He beckoned for her to follow him further into the dark recesses of the barn. "Have to keep 'em in a dark place to keep from spoiling," he explained as he handed her a _masu_, the box-like cup originally used for measuring rice and sometimes used for drinking _nihonshu_. Megumi smelled the honey scent almost at once when he opened a bottle and poured some into her cup. "It's _junmai_," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Megumi understood this to mean that he did not add brewer's alcohol in the mixture before pressing. She took a sip, fully expecting the flavors to be subtle and was not disappointed. For once, she was happy she quit smoking when she did. The _sake_ had a full body thick mouthfeel, hints of crisp pear -- not too fruity, mild, light nama flavors and a lingering finish.

"This is actually quite good, Sano," she said.

"Try some more," he suggested. He was standing right next to her, his voice close to her ear.

"Are you by any chance trying to get me drunk, _toriatama_?"

"I've never seen you drunk, _kitsune_. Are you even more interesting that way?"

Megumi tried to shrug but realized that he would not be able to see the gesture in the dark. She drank the rest of the _sake_ with a toss of her head, then turned and bumped full face into a solid male chest. "Sano," she said.

"Megumi," he acknowledged, voice low. His hands took the _masu_ from between her fingers, placed them somewhere behind him, all the while keeping her right where she was, her back against the wall.

She was trapped; she wasn't in the least bit alarmed. They had been dancing around this for some time. She knew he was going to make his move now. She felt one of his arms rest against a spot just above her head, felt him lean down. He ran a fingertip down her cheek. "Whacha thinkin'?"

"That this isn't a good idea." Her head was reeling, with the alcohol, with his closeness. He smelled of wood, sweat and something fruity.

He brushed his lips against hers and her body thrilled at the first light touch. "No?" He whispered, nipping gently at her lip with his teeth.

Megumi barely breathed. "It's going to complicate matters. The will…"

"You're right, we shouldn't," he agreed even as his mouth finally claimed hers.

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TBC

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**AN** I'll be very busy in the next few days so I don't know when I can next work on this fic. Although it feels like it, this isn't a cliff-hanger. But I'll try to come back as soon as I am able and then I'm going to introduce a subplot. Thanks, everyone.


	10. Chapter 95

**Chapter 9.5**

* * *

Sanosuke was as straightforward and bold as Megumi had always thought he would be. There was something almost primitive in the way he held her, kissed her. He was hands and mouth and teeth all at once, and somewhere in the hazy glow of their first contact, Megumi wondered what would happen if she responded likewise. It would be so simple. _Dangerous._ This was Sagara Sanosuke, the only man who could simultaneously attract and repel her and then do it all over.

But the kiss went on. She wanted it to go on. As his mouth explored hers, she felt his hands slide down to the flare of her hips, pressing her closer. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt his arms tighten around her in response. Ripples of warmth spread deep in her belly. Odd spurts of tension along her limbs. Then he drew back, slightly, caressing her cheek. She took him stare for stare and watched as he lowered his mouth and kissed her again. Without urgency or passion this time -- sweet, lingering, lips soft and skillful against hers, his tongue beginning to probe. Megumi parted her lips and touched his tongue with her own, toying, dancing together until the heat became unbearable and they just had to stop.

Together they drew away.

"Well." Megumi struggled for composure and was actually glad for the shadows cast inside the barn. It hid her face and other emotions she might not have been able to hide otherwise.

"Well," Sanosuke echoed. He sounded nonchalant but not unaffected. He was still breathing a little too fast. Megumi wondered if she sounded the same way. "That I did not expect," he went on. His arms dropped to his side.

"Really." Be casual, she told herself, digging her fingernails into her palms. Be careless. "I thought it was going to happen sooner or later."

"…yeah, I guess," he said after a brief pause. For a moment, it seemed as if he was going to say something more but when he didn't, Megumi turned, letting out a half-sigh, half-laugh.

"I think I need those car keys now, _toriatama_," she said, her tone light as she started for the door. "Where do you keep them?"

"Right here, _kitsune_," he said.

She glanced at him over her shoulder just as he is tossing the keys in her direction. She could not move quick enough, however, so they dropped near her feet with a dull jiggle. "Nice," she remarked sarcastically before she bent down and picked them up. When she rose again, a shaft of light revealed to her an expression on Sanosuke's face she had never seen before. It jarred her momentarily. "What?"

He jammed his hands in his pockets and turned away. "Nothin.'"

Megumi stared at him and asked herself whether she made a mistake in allowing that kiss. Yes, she was attracted to him. But they also had to live together for three more months. Physical contact could only entail emotional involvement. And that she could not risk. There was too much at stake and no room for anything more personal than what they already had.

"Sano…" She started to say but just then the sound of a crash coming from outside brought the two of them to attention. "What was that?" She exclaimed. Sano did not respond and instead started running towards the door.

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TBC

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**AN** Edited because I wrote the original while traveling and didn't re-read until I've already published it here. I think this new version sucks a little less. Also, I made the kiss hotter.

This is a very, very short update to tide you over to the next chapter, which is coming in a bit.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

A car pulled up in the driveway and Saitou Hajime stepped out. He was alone. Sagara Sanosuke must have heard him because he came out of the house and met him at the front. Then, he showed him the scene. Saitou did not say anything but surveyed the damage for himself.

There wasn't a lot. Just leaves of paper lying about, boxes overturned and what looked like medical textbooks with pages torn off. Vandalism was not common in this area, especially not against private property in such an out-of-the-way location. Vandals liked their targets accessible and obvious. Old Genzai's house up on the hill certainly did not fit that criteria.

"This is interesting," he murmured as he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one.

"I don't really know what to say, Saitou-san," Takani Megumi said a while later.

They were in the sitting room and old Genzai's granddaughter was serving him tea. This was not the first time that Saitou Hajime had been inside the house. His gaze was immediately drawn to the _tokonoma_, a small alcove where two replica Sung Dynasty wall scrolls hung along with a table on which were the _mitsugusoku_: the incense burner, flower vase and the candleholder.

"I have no idea why anyone would want to do this," Megumi said, taking a seat opposite him.

After some initial check, Saitou found out that only things that belonged to Takani Megumi were touched (destroyed was more accurate.) None of Sagara Sanosuke's belongings were disturbed. It seemed the only conclusion to be drawn was that the attack was specifically targeted against Takani Megumi. But Saitou did not tell her this. Not yet. Not until he figured out a few more things.

"Nothing was taken, I presume," he began.

"Well, my laptop is missing," Megumi informed. "It was worth three hundred thousand."

"Is that all that the intruder took?"

"I think so. I haven't checked the other rooms but Sagara-san says he isn't missing any of his belongings."

"Three hundred thousand yen is a lot of money, but if robbery was all it was, our friend must not have noticed the Sung Dynasty wall scrolls on the alcove. Even if they're just copies, I think they're worth five times more than that."

"He probably doesn't recognize their value."

"Hm," Saitou sounded thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "Takani-san, I don't suppose your laptop contained anything…interesting?"

"What do you mean?" She looked a little confused but not surprised by the question, Saitou noted. "I use my laptop for studying. It's just review materials and notes and some personal stuff."

"I see." Saitou took a sip of his tea, then asked, "Are you sure you did not notice anything? A few minutes before the incident occurred, I mean."

"I told that officer on the phone that I was at the barn with Sagara-san when I heard the noise."

"And that was when both of you ran out." Megumi nodded. "But you didn't see the intruder, just the broken door, the source of the crashing noise," he continued with his line of questioning.

"Yes." Her eyes glanced to the side.

Saitou studied her. And then: "I'm sorry but what were you doing --"

"We were _sake_ tasting," she answered before he could even finish the question. "Sagara-san made some _sake_ with the rice from the…. We were drinking," she finished in an abrupt manner and reached for her cup.

"I see," Saitou murmured. He looked at her face and thought that he detected something there but decided that it was not relevant to his investigation. He finished his tea and said, "Well, it looks like the driving motive here is vandalism, Takani-san. I'll have some of my men check the pawnshops in town to see if your laptop turns up."

"Thank you."

He rose from his seat and made his way to the door. Megumi followed him. "We'll continue to investigate and update you on the matter," he told her.

"Thank you very much."

While Saitou was at the _doma_, putting his shoes back on, Sagara Sanosuke approached to ask him for his thoughts about the incident. Saitou knew that the man needed some kind of reassurance that there was no danger, so he gave him that. At the moment, nothing in the evidence showed any evil personal motive against the occupants of the house. There was something, however, that was bothering him so he advised "Don't be too complacent, Sagara," as he rose to his feet.

When he was outside, Saitou scanned the surroundings again, looking for something that he might have missed. He noted the barn. It was located at some distance away from the back of the house, the path marked by stone steps forming an integral part of the garden. The area was surrounded by trees: pauwlonia, oak, pine, cedar, maple, and _ume_, their branches, almost bare now but still thick enough to provide shade. There were definitely spots for someone to hide in. Saitou noticed bicycle tracks on his way here. That explained why neither of them heard anyone coming or going. But if the purpose was to surreptitiously enter the house and steal, why break the door on the way out?

Or was it scare tactic?

Interesting, Saitou thought again as he made his way back to his car.

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TBC

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**AN** Subplot alert. Also, I revised Chapter 9.5. Just minor changes but I made the kiss hotter so yeah go back and read. XD


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

With the cop gone, the house was plunged into an uncomfortable silence. Across the _ima_, Megumi met Sanosuke's eyes but found that she could not hold his gaze for long. So she said something about cleaning up the mess in the front yard before brushing past him on her way out.

He stopped her, his hand on her arm. "Ya believe me now?"

Megumi stared up at him. His voice was much milder than his eyes. She knew, of course, what he was on about. She had thought it was one of his pranks -- his payback for that one time out in the _rouka_. A childish trick and her first reaction, upon seeing the mess, had been to accuse him of going completely and utterly over the line. It had been their first real argument since the whole debacle with the will started. Now that she had an opportunity to look back, she realized that it had not been the prank itself that had gotten her so worked up; it was the way he had done it. He had kissed her, made her feel all those hungers and aches that she hadn't felt in a long time, and all along he had been doing it so he could spring this kind of - obscene - joke on her. When she'd said that to him moments ago, Sanosuke had been understandably enraged. In a fit of temper, he had told her that he wanted to kiss her ever since he saw her standing on the platform at the station that day and he did not need a prank as an excuse to do what he wanted. Then to prove to her that it really had not been his doing, he had called the police and told them what happened.

"Do ya believe me now?" He repeated, still gripping her arm.

He was still furious. He had the right to be, Megumi admitted, but then, so did she. Yet when it was all said and done, there was really nobody to blame. It was not as if Sano barged into her life, stirring things up she wanted left alone. It was not as if the condition of the will was his fault. The truth was, she was the one who'd acted like an idiot. The one thing Megumi detested the most was finding herself in the wrong.

"I'm sorry." The words came before she even realized she would say them. "I overreacted."

He blinked as though surprised and searched her face for something to confirm her words. He must have found what he needed because after a moment his expression lightened. "_Kitsune_," he finally said, a smile beginning to tug at his mouth, "was that very hard to say?"

"I don't intend to make a habit out of it," she said dryly, snatching her arm away.

If anything, he looked even more amused. "This is almost too good to be true. Ya know, we could make an entire house rule outta this."

"Don't bet on it, _toriatama_," she retorted but she smiled, removing the sting from her words. Things between them would probably never go back to normal. But right now, even a semblance of normalcy was preferable. However, the incident with the vandals was not easily forgotten. Despite what Saitou Hajime had said about vandals, Megumi had the nagging sense that things were not that simple. She wanted to talk to someone about it and there was only one person who came to mind.

"Try to isolate the source of your anxiety," came Kenshin's calm voice. He was sitting across from her on a table at a café. Megumi had called him earlier from a payphone outside a convenience store in downtown Aizu-Wakamatsu, after having driven all the way from her grandfather's house to buy groceries as she had originally planned.

"I don't understand what you mean," Megumi said, taking a sip of her latte.

"Your instincts are telling you something," Kenshin told her. "Go back to when you started feeling this way."

"I told you, it was the vandalism," she answered, a little miffed.

"The vandalism was just the trigger," Kenshin countered. "But before that, was there something that was already bothering you?"

Megumi thought about it but could not see his point. She did, however, remember: "I had a meeting with Takeda Kanryuu."

Kenshin looked surprised. "The chairman of the Chouju Hospital?" And then he added, "Oh, yes, I think you mentioned something about that when you visited us at the hospital." Now, he appeared thoughtful as he placed his cup down. "Do you recall anything in particular that Takeda Kanryuu said or did during that meeting?"

"No," she shook her head. "It wasn't what he said. He was very polite. But I knew, I…felt that he didn't want me to get involved with the hospital's management."

"So do you think that Takeda Kanryuu felt threatened by the idea?" Kenshin already knew about the circumstances with Genzai Oguni's will -- at least, with the basic provisions, but not about the part affecting Megumi and Sano's living arrangements for three more months. That part, she purposely flossed over.

"I honestly don't know." It was plausible but its connection to the incident was absurd. Even if Takeda Kanryuu was somehow involved, what did he hope to accomplish? Prevent her from getting hold of her grandfather's shares? The will was already in effect, and it was not as if Takeda Kanryuu was aware about the will's resolutory condition. Only she and Sano and the lawyer knew anything about that.

In the end, Kenshin could not make all of Megumi's anxieties disappear but the conversation did make her feel better. Kenshin had a way of calming those around him. He did not even have to say a single word.

Before leaving, Kenshin made Megumi promise to come visit again, perhaps bringing Sano with her next time. "I'll try," she said with her characteristic light laugh, "but you know how that one likes free food. I think you'll have more trouble un-inviting him."

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TBC

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**AN** Mental expositions. I hate them. I hate them as much as I hate descriptive narratives actually. But they're necessary. Now, if you'll excuse, I'm off to go pay my bills.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

When Megumi finally came out of the _washitsu_ after four hours of grueling study, it was already dusk and Sanosuke was still out. She went through the motions of preparing dinner, and afterwards, to cheer herself up, she settled down and watched some _owarai_ re-runs on TV. Sano came in a while later, removed his boots at the _doma_ and then plopped down beside her on the couch. Megumi glanced at him curiously. Despite having worked out their misunderstanding and sort of made up, they had not been talking much in the six days since the incident happened. Megumi admitted to herself that part of the reason was that she was afraid any mention of it might bring up what happened on a more personal level. But she had to admit also that the downside to this was that she was starting to miss her old exchanges with him. Even the banters were better than this.

So when Sano, looking tired but relieved to be home, said "_Tadaima_" in a gruff voice, Megumi answered "_Okaeri_" and meant it. Without indicating that he got the subtle meaning behind that word or the context in which it was made, Sano dropped his head against the headrest and shut his eyes. Megumi bit her lip and returned her attention to the TV. After a moment, Sano's breathing grew deep and even. He had fallen asleep. On the screen, the _tsukkomi_ was good-naturedly hitting his partner with a fan for confusing the word "bridge" with "edge." Both sounded the same but were written differently. Megumi switched off the set and glanced at Sano again.

She could leave him here, she considered as she watched him sleep. He looked comfortable enough. She thought about it as she reached forward and brushed the hair from his forehead. But he would probably wake up with a stiff neck and a nasty disposition. Besides, he hadn't eaten dinner yet. So making up her mind, she leaned forward and shook his shoulder gently.

Dark eyes opened and stared at her in confusion for a second before he registered her and his surroundings. "Did I fall asleep?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Do you want dinner?" She asked instead of answering.

Megumi had prepared steamed fish and curry rice. Sano took one bite of the pork and his eyes went wide. Megumi almost laughed right then. It was a joke. She made the curry sauce extra spicy.

His face was turning red. "Boy, that's a lot of pepper," he let out, reaching for his glass.

"What's the matter? Too hot for you?" She asked innocently.

"Nope," he replied even as he took a huge gulp of water. "This is great."

She hid a smirk as she watched him dig into his plate. "Don't force yourself, Sano. I don't want you to burn a hole through your stomach lining."

After dinner, Megumi left Sanosuke to do the dishes and withdrew to the _washitsu_ to pick up where she left off on her reading. But after only a few minutes, her mind began to wander, thoughts drifting from one thing to another without order or logic. Cigarettes entered her mind and she absently tapped her index and middle finger against her lips, counting the days she had last had one. Exactly one month, thirteen days and -- she checked her watch -- two and a half hours.

"I heard that in the early days of non-smoking ya need a lotta oral satisfaction," a voice suddenly cut through Megumi's preoccupation, shocking her enough to make her jump in her seat.

She whirled around quickly to find Sanosuke grinning at her through the half-open _shoji_. "Dammit, how long have you been sitting there?"

"Long enough to know you're trying to drop the habit," he answered easily.

She gave him an icy stare. "That's Rules One and Four you're breaking, _toriatama_."

His grin did not let up. "One, we're not in your room." Megumi started to open her mouth to say something but he stopped her. "Two, you're obviously not studyin.' And three," he said with a mocking smile, "you're too bored to care." Then, without waiting for her to respond, he stepped from the _rouka_ and crossed the room towards her.

"What do you think are you doing?"

He did not answer but he squatted across the _kotatsu_ from her and showed her something he fished out from his pocket. It was a box of _hanafuda_ cards.

Megumi stared at it for a moment and then looked up, saying very deliberately, "You cheat."

"It's not cheating if ya don't catch me doin' it."

"Your moral compass is astounding, _toriatama no baka_."

"Scared, Megitsune?"

"No," Megumi denied quickly, and then: "Megitsune?" Her mouth twitched in amusement.

His answer was a lazy grin as he began dealing the cards. After he was done, he inspected his hand, changed the order a little bit, watching as Megumi reluctantly picked up the set he laid out in front of her. He kept glancing in her direction so that after a while she actually started to feel herself blush in discomfort. She hid her embarrassment with a scowl. "What?"

And it was as though he had been waiting for her to ask just that. Leaning forward, he said with a mocking leer, "Wanna make this into a strip game?"

Rather than dignify the question with an answer, she raised one eyebrow and said in a haughty manner, "What makes you think I'm interested in seeing your body?"

He laughed and wiggled his brows at her. "Anyone ever told ya not talk with your mouth full?"

"Don't talk to me about manners, Sanosuke."

"I wasna talkin' about manners. I was calling your bluff."

She arched an eyebrow. "Once again, you're talking nonsense."

With a careless flick Sano knocked the cards from her hand, reached across the table and hauled her into his lap. Megumi could not gather her wits quick enough. "What the hell do you think --"

He silenced her with a hard, thorough kiss that made Megumi feel like her legs had dissolved from right under her.

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TBC

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**AN** owarai - the Japanese version of stand-up comedy on television; the comedians mostly appear in pairs, particularly in manzai style where the performers are known as the tsukkomi (the straight man) and the bokke (the funny man), characterized by the speed at which they trade jokes

kotatsu - a type of Japanese furniture that functions as a table, covered by a futon with a heat source underneath

hanafuda - Japanese playing cards with 12 suits, each representing the months in a year


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

In the morning, Megumi got a call from Saitou Hajime, telling her that he found her laptop. As suspected, the culprit had tried to pawn it off. The police having already put out an alert for its serial number, the pawnshop owner was able to recognize it and immediately contacted them. Saitou's subordinates were then able to recover the item as well as catch the culprit and put him in custody.

The culprit's name was Myojin Yahiko.

After hanging up the phone, Megumi wandered into the _rouka_ and saw Sanosuke, busy carrying crates from the barn and loading them into the trunk of his car. She watched him unobserved for a moment.

She still smarted from the kiss last night. Sano's audacity and arrogance had set her back up. If it were any other person, she'd have no problem calming down gracefully. But something about Sanosuke made her act contrary to her character. Uncomfortable, challenged, infuriated. She told herself the only reason she'd even attempt to talk to him again was because she needed a ride to town.

"I thought ya weren't gonna speak with me again," he said to her a while later. Of course, he was also ill-mannered enough to belabor the point.

"I don't have to speak with you in order to get a ride with you," Megumi replied dryly as she slid in the car beside him.

"What if I make speakin' with me a condition to your ridin' with me?" He proposed.

Her color rose in anger. "You --" But she didn't finish her statement and instead opened the door and started to step out of the car.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "For god's sake, how the hell did ya manage to hate what happened between us so quickly?"

She paused, her senses returning. Hate? It made her uneasy, and his infuriating attitude didn't help any, but hate? "That's absurd," she said after some length.

His grip relaxed. "Well, ya could've fooled me."

"You're an idiot, Sano," she said, reverting to her stock description of him. "Dense and just this side of insane."

His mouth showed a flat line of annoyance. "Close the door or get outta the car, _kitsune onna_."

Megumi was sorely tempted but thought better of it and closed the door on her side instead. Sano turned the key, gunning the motor. "Look," she started to say but he cut her off with a snappy and clearly mad:

"Don't talk to me."

The rest of the lengthy drive into town was accomplished in cold silence. For Megumi, the irritation at his boorish behavior actually simmered down after the first few minutes, but pride and stubbornness kept her from venturing one neutral word until they reached their destination. They stopped by the police precinct first. As soon as she made it out of the car, Sano shifted gears and started backing out of there with nothing more than a "at the Akabeko, eleven o' clock, don't be late." She wanted to say something sarcastic in return but couldn't because by the time she came up with a zinger, his car was already gone. Fresh bursts of irritation, which she had to swallow down with some difficulty, aside, she managed to walk towards the complex without losing her composure.

The claiming process was easy. The officer behind the desk merely asked Megumi to fill up some forms and afterwards she was made to wait while another officer came out of the evidence room with a box in hand. Her laptop was inside with the police tag still on.

"Oh, and Detective Saitou wants to speak with you, Takani-san," the officer reminded her. "He's right over there." He pointed to a row of cubicles in the far corner of the room.

Megumi almost immediately recognized the cop who went to her house. There was no mistaking the sharp features of the man or the smoke trails drifting lazily towards the ceiling from a cigarette held between surprisingly elegant fingers. Saitou Hajime was speaking with a fellow officer, a slender woman with black hair framing an intelligent face. The conversation appeared casual, displacing the mental image that Megumi had of the normally business-like Detective Saitou. He saw her just then and indicated for her to come over.

"Do you know how many hospitals and clinics there are in Aizu-wakamatsu?" The female officer spoke in a soft yet challenging voice when Megumi arrived within hearing distance.

Saitou sat back in his desk and extracted the badge strapped around his right upper forearm. He threw it on the desk with a casual flick. "No. Tell me, Tokio."

"Probably upward of two hundred. And what about doctors? Do you know how many doctors' offices there are in the Sengokumachi area alone?"

"So check them after you're done with the emergency wards." Saitou yanked out his drawer and grabbed the ashtray inside. Then, he took one last hit on his cigarette before he stubbed it out. "Ah, Takani-san, good morning," he said to Megumi, standing behind his female colleague.

At the greeting, the female officer called Tokio turned and glanced in her direction. Megumi bowed and the older woman returned the gesture before she turned back to Saitou, saying in that soft but firm voice of hers, "I'll start looking for a hospital near the vicinity."

"Marvelous," Saitou only said. After the female officer left, Megumi sat down on one of the empty chairs there as Saitou leaned forward slightly. "Now, Takani-san…."

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TBC

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**AN** I intend to make at least two more updates for this week and after that I won't work on the fic again until the second week of April. Sorry. You'll have to hold on until then. But I promise that the upcoming two chapters will be enough to tide you through the hopefully short hiatus.

Thank you for reading this fic. Being a long-time Sano x Megumi fanfic writer, I've been around long enough to recognize some of the usernames of people who like this pairing. But I've noticed some new names crop up as well. So I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the often tumultuous, always exciting, never boring world of the Toriatama and the Kitsune. If you can take time to look around my profile, you'll find some great Sano x Megumi fanfics that I enjoyed reading.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14

* * *

**

He was barely fifteen, small for his age, pale and rail-thin. When Megumi first met Myojin Yahiko, she did not know what to think. Saitou Hajime wanted to know if she recognized the boy but she had never seen him before and knew nothing about him, other than that he was apparently the person found in possession of her stolen laptop and, therefore, a suspect in the vandalism at her grandfather's house. Because he was a minor, the police could not keep him in custody and subsequently tried to contact his family with no success. In the end, they had to call the Aizu-wakamatsu Child Guidance Center and Office who promised to take the boy in while police continue their efforts to find his parents. The Center sent one of their social workers, Himura Kaoru, to pick him up that same hour.

"We can drop you at the Akabeko if you want," Kaoru offered as she slid inside the car after Yahiko. For a woman who had given birth three weeks ago, she looked incredible. Then again, Kaoru had always been a sturdy girl. "It's alright, isn't it, Sawagejou-san?" She asked the junior officer tasked to drive them to the Center.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. It's on the way anyhow." Sawagejou Chou had dyed blond hair and multiple piercings and absolutely looked nothing like a cop.

"Tae will be thrilled to see you, Megumi," Kaoru informed when Megumi took the front seat beside Chou. "You know, you haven't really gone out much after you came back." This last bit sounded reproachful.

Megumi arched an eyebrow. "You're one to talk, Mrs. Himura. You shouldn't even _be_ out."

"Is that my friend talking? Or the person who's going to take the doctor's exam this April?"

"It's your _friend_ who's going to take the doctor's exam this April talking. Honestly, Kaoru." Megumi sighed but then later smirked. "Well, I don't really mind comforting a down-and-out Ken-san..."

"I'm fine." Kaoru waved her hand dismissively, apparently too used to Megumi by now to mind very much. "Hardly feel a thing. Besides, this isn't work." She smiled, mainly for the benefit of Myojin Yahiko who was sitting in sullen silence beside her.

"So Kaoru-san, I hear you got new students at the _dojo_," Chou said a while later. "I'm lookin' forward to new sparring partners. These guys at the force are soft."

"Well, if you don't mind kids for sparring partners," Kaoru replied. "Some of our new students are children from the Center. We figured teaching them _kendo_ can be part of their program."

"How 'bout that, Yahiko-chan?" Chou asked, glancing at the boy through the rear view mirror. "Wanna learn _kendo_ from Kaoru-san? Now, she's a lady but she's real tough."

The boy merely scowled in answer.

"It's alright. We don't force anyone to learn the martial art," Kaoru said in a placating tone.

Several minutes passed and then the Akabeko's distinctive restaurant front appeared in a corner. Chou stopped the patrol car by the side of the road. It was not yet eleven o' clock but Megumi saw Sano's car already parked at curbside. The trunk was open. Sano was strolling out, carrying an empty crate in his arms. He noticed the patrol car and seemed to pause. After thanking both Chou and Kaoru, Megumi opened the door on her side and stepped out.

Then everything happened quickly. Megumi had no time to process.

She only saw the quick flash of gray zipping towards them without fully registering it. Heard the other car door open. Then, the child skimming through the curb, past her, and into the intersection. He was so close, his jeans brushed hers as he scrambled away. Before she knew it, before Kaoru could even scream, Megumi was already dashing forward. Part of her registered Sano's voice, either furious or terrified, as he called her name. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the gray bus. Its headlights were like the eyes of a wild animal, heading towards her, but she never paused. Not hearing or feeling anything but the ground trembling as the bus closed in. There wasn't time to waste her breath on shouting. Running on instinct, she lunged. The momentum carried her forward. Her speed caused her to fall down hard, full length on the boy, and knocked the breath out of both of them. As the bus skimmed by them, she felt the hot rush of air. And it was then she heard the awful, ear-splitting sound of someone stepping on the breaks. Hard.

The next instant was like a vacuum. No sound, sight or feeling pierced the spinning haze that clouded Megumi's head. Then the boy still pinned underneath her started to squirm. Megumi knew she had to move but for some reason her limbs did not do as her brain dictated. She wasn't hit. She swallowed at the thought. No, she would have known if she had been caught by the bus. There would be pain. Or, maybe she was still too numb to feel it.

Someone was cursing loudly. She closed her eyes, wondering if she would ever be able to stand up again. But then, that same someone hauled her to her feet. Megumi swayed and stared up at Sano's deathly white face.

"Ya hurt?" He shook her, and then shook her again when she didn't answer. "Are ya hurt anywhere?"

"What?" She noticed that his hands were trembling as he held her. It took her another moment to realize that there was someone else holding her hand. She turned and looked at Myojin Yahiko's pale face, taking in the red-rimmed eyes and the gratitude and stunned disbelief in their depths. Bemused, Megumi figured that she did something foolish.

"Damn it, Megumi! What the hell kinda stunt was that?" Sano's furious voice drifted in and out.

Megumi had a vague impression of the driver of the bus looking remorseful as he repeated over and over that the kid came out of nowhere. There was a sea of faces around them, passers-by and store patrons who saw the almost-accident. Among them was the Akabeko owner, Seikihara Tae. When Sano led Megumi away from the crowd, Tae stepped forward, her hand out.

"I'm fine," Megumi said, starting to recover some of her usual equanimity.

But Sano cut her off. His fear and shock at seeing the whole thing translated themselves to anger barely suppressed. "If you _are_ fine, I'm gonna strangle ya myself," he promised.

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TBC

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**AN** Tweaking Chapter 15. Should be out tomorrow or Friday.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Sano stepped on the breaks so abruptly that Megumi felt her seatbelt bite into her shoulder. By the time she recovered, he was out of his side, slamming the door and striding across the driveway towards old Genzai's house. Rubbing her sore shoulder, Megumi released the latch and pushed out of the car to go after him.

"Just what is your problem, Sanosuke?" Anger made her breathless as she caught at his shirtsleeve. "What in god's name is _wrong_ with you?"

"Just shut up." He jerked away from her and stalked forward. He reached the large wooden door that served as front entrance to the house and opened it with a hard yank. Then, he stalked inside the _doma_ in the same wordless huff.

"Don't you tell me to shut up." Lengthening her strides so that she came up ahead of him, she turned to face him. "I've had enough of this. I've had all that I can take from you. That is it! I don't want to see your face again today, Sanosuke. I want you to go."

She whirled away but before she could storm off she was spun back and crushed into his arms. His mouth stole hers in a hard, punishing kiss. She fought back, then stumbled on the raised floor of the _ima_ and fell. Sano went right down with her.

When Megumi recovered enough for shock to give way to annoyance and annoyance to give way to outrage, she was on the floor and Sanosuke was hovering above her, his hands on either side of her head, his knees straddling her legs. It was not the most dignified position she had ever found herself in. With her face red, she tried to get up, pushing against his chest with both hands. "Get off me."

He did not budge. In one smooth move, Megumi kneed him at a tender spot. Sanosuke's face crumpled in a grimace of pain as he doubled over. She tried to roll away then, but he recovered fast and managed to catch her by her hair. The sudden jerk made her lose her breath and then he was pouncing on her. It was insane, the two of them wrangling each other on the _tatami_ floor. Sano would not let go of her hair. Megumi kept trying to kick him. "Sano, let me go," she demanded.

Rather than do as she asked, he gave her hair a hard tug. The pressure was enough to make her eyes sting. She cried out and swung out wildly, feeling her elbow connect with his jawline. He swore an oath, circling her waist with his arms and pulling her in. With her back pressed against him, he successfully pinned her arms to her sides.

"Damn you!" She panted, writhing.

He held her down, drew his mouth close to her ear and breathed, "You _hellcat!_"

Megumi struggled harder, fright and resentment giving her strength. He'd gone mad! But he was stronger than her. Much stronger. She could barely move. Her heart beat a tattoo against her chest, all her muscles taut. "Sanosuke, I fucking _mean_ it! Let me go!"

"Dammit, stay still!" He commanded, his arms wrapped tightly around her. His breathing came fast and uneven. It stirred the hairs on the back of her neck.

It was not until she took a moment to muster her forces and turn to him with face full of wrath -- "Bastard," she said vehemently -- that she realized he wasn't trying to do anything. He merely held her down. And still.

Like a balloon deflating, anger went out of her.

"Sano?" She said his name, not sure how to take this. There was emotion in his eyes -- desire, anger, frustration, and something else entirely.

He shook his head and cupped her face, seeking her mouth again in a kiss of vast hunger and delicacy. Megumi went stiff at the sudden assault, and then alarm subsided, followed by instinct. His lips were warm, his arms solid. She returned the desperate kiss and felt his response in the sudden tightening of his arms. He moved her so that she was on his lap, his hands riding her sides onto the roundness of her buttocks. She trembled at the touch, opening her mouth to accept his tongue, aching to be filled, unable to separate desire from terror or terror from confusion. Until sanity floated to the surface, through the passion, through the anxiety, through the surprise and wonderment. She pulled back, hands keeping him at bay. "No, no," she murmured. "No…"

He merely buried his face in her hair and breathed. Baffled, Megumi stroked his back, realizing belatedly that Sano's arms were trembling. They'd been trembling too when he picked her up in front of the Akabeko earlier, and the unbidden memory brought back what happened in sharp focus. She shivered involuntarily. Even with her eyes shut, she could still see it -- the gray bus careening towards them. She didn't even stop to think. She could have died. That was what Sano was angry about. No, not angry. Terrified. Terrified of what actually happened. Terrified of what could have been.

"Oh god," she let out in a breath.

Sano stirred, his hands coming to her face again, stroking gently. He didn't say anything.

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TBC

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**AN** LOL I think this is the most action-packed chapter I'll ever get to write for this fic. Sano, IMHO, is not an eloquent guy. I mean, he's loud and generally full of bluster but he's not very good with words, is he? Also, Megumi may be smart but sometimes, even smart people can misinterpret what others are trying to offer.

And with that, I am officially on hiatus. Thanks, guys.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

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* * *

**

Kaoru called later that week. She'd called several times before actually, to ask if Megumi was alright, to thank her, to update her on Myojin Yahiko and how well he was settling down at the Center. And now, she was trying to extract a promise from Megumi to come over for dinner.

"Friday, no buts," Kaoru insisted over the phone.

"Fine," Megumi said with a slight smile. She was replacing the phone when Sanosuke wandered into the room a moment later. "Kaoru," she informed, turning around. Only to miss a step when she saw him.

He was barefoot, wearing faded blue jeans. Shirtless.

"…Did you run out of clean shirts or something?" She asked after a longish pause, prying her eyes away from the view of wide chest and lean hips to stare fascinated at the wall pattern behind him instead.

"Huh? No." Sano shook his head, apparently only noticing that he had yet to put on the sweatshirt he was holding. He put it on and asked, "So what'd _jou-chan_ want?"

"She wants us to come over for dinner on Friday."

Sano's tousled hair emerged through the hole in the neckline. "That's strange," he commented, pulling the shirt the rest of the way down. "She never used to invite me."

Megumi smirked, moving away from the phone to stand next to a shelf in the corner. "Actually, the invite was for me. She just assumed you'd come uninvited. As usual."

"Well, that's just mean." But he was grinning when his gaze met hers across the room.

Megumi swallowed. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked, hoping to sound casual.

Sano was striding towards her while putting on his coat. "Got some deliveries to make." He stopped right in front of her and arched his brows mockingly. "Wanna come?"

Megumi was surprised and looked it. "Me?"

"No, Megumi. I was talkin' to the shelf behind ya."

Her mouth lifted at the corners. "You should know I don't respond well to sarcasm."

"Me neither." He shrugged negligently. Then, without warning, he reached towards her.

Megumi had no time to move aside. As Sano leaned close, she caught the scent of soap on him and realized the last time they had been this close was that day of the near-accident. The memory made her mouth feel dry so she licked her lips. Sano straightened at that moment and caught the furtive gesture. His eyes darkened and she thought that he might kiss her then. But he didn't.

"Keys," he only said, holding the item up for her inspection.

"Oh," she said, wondering if that dip in her voice was disappointment.

Sano was already moving away, shoving the keys deep in his coat pockets as he started for the _doma_. Before he could step down, however, he suddenly stopped and turned back, crossing the room in just three strides. He stopped in front of her again. Megumi was too puzzled to venture a word, but found that there was no need to. Before she even realized, Sano was cupping her neck, his mouth lowering toward hers.

Megumi felt her heart start, then stutter, then start again. The kiss was soft and lingering. Less a kiss, more a whisper of it, brush, retreat, brush of mouth against mouth. Her eyes blinked open to find him watching her. She drew back, confused. Sano lifted his hand to caress her cheek and tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I want you, Megumi," he said abruptly, without preamble or even the least bit of flourish. Like he had always known and he never had to think about it. Like it was the simplest thing in the world to want someone and then say it to her face.

Megumi felt like the ground had caved in from right under her. "What?"

He chucked her under the chin, grinning that grin of his -- the one that didn't flash into existence but spread slowly, easily across his face.

Megumi experienced a second rapid meltdown.

"Ya heard me," he said. Then very casually, he changed tactics. "Ya sure ya don't wanna come with me for a drive?"

Unable to trust her own voice, she just shook her head.

"Okay then," he said and once more turned for the door. His strides were nonchalant as though he never caused such an earth-shattering moment. "I'll try to make this trip short," he told her over his shoulder. "I think it's finally gonna snow."

As soon as he was out, Megumi let out a shudder and held on to the shelf as though for dear life. "Oh my god," she said to the empty house.

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TBC

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**AN** Two weeks ago, I found out that I passed the most important exam of my life. It doesn't mean anything to you, but it might mean this will be the last fanfiction I'll ever get to write. I'll try to finish this fanfic as soon as possible before things catch up with me.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

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Sano's prediction about the weather was correct. At around mid-afternoon, the wind began to pick up, quickly gaining momentum. The air turned frigid and cold, the kind of cold that penetrated bone. Minutes later, snow, the first of the year, began to fall.

Megumi rose from the bath and reached for the towel. She was drying herself when she heard an odd noise coming from outside. She went still, listening.

It was a crunching sound, the kind made when someone stepped on fresh snow. She put on a yukata and approached the door. The steps continued. Around the bathhouse, then back again.

With growing alarm, Megumi recalled the last time an intruder had come around the house. She released the lock on the door and tugged at the grip. The door did not move. She tugged again. Nothing. The intruder must have heard her trying to open the door because the steps paused for a second, then quickly retreated. Megumi turned around and went to the other end. The shoji that separated the bathing room from the toilet slid open without any hitch. She made it to the door on that side and pulled but still, nothing. She was totally locked in from outside.

For a few minutes, Megumi simply refused to believe it. She put both hands on the grip and tugged with all her might. When pulling did not work, she pushed, using her shoulders and body weight to shove at the door. Then, she forgot everything but the fear of being closed in.

Outside, it continued to snow. It was going to get very cold in there. The water in the bath was still warm, but for how long? Unlike other houses in the Aizu area, old Genzai's house had a tank on site and no connection to the municipal utility. Megumi turned the faucet to hot and waited a minute before she checked the water. Cold. Gritting her teeth tightly, she went to the door again and contemplated her next move.  
So, they had thought to take out the heater. She had no doubt now that this was no mere vandalism or theft. Even if it was not likely that she would get hypothermia and freeze to death if she stayed there all night, the intention of harm was there. And it would be a very uncomfortable night regardless. She decided that she wouldn't give them -- whoever they were -- the satisfaction.

She studied the door. It was made of hardwood, solid. There was no way she could break her way out through there. She might even harm herself in the attempt. She crossed her arms and tapped her right foot, turning to glance at the bathtub. Steam was still rising from the warm water, but not for long. Then her gaze fell on the towel rack attached to the wall by screws and bolts. The towel was thrown over it haphazardly. She absently straightened it while she turned to look at the door again, finally recalling that the outside lock of the bathhouse was not that complicated. A mere hook-and-eye device. If she could somehow find a way -- she laid a palm on the hardwood -- to insert something through the space between the door and the doorframe, she might be able to reach out and remove the hook from out of its hole.

Megumi stepped back and stared at the metal rack on the wall. Of course. Putting both hands on the metal rack, she started to pull. At first, nothing happened. She took down the towel, dropping it on the floor, and pulled at the metal rack again. Nothing. She tried again, and again, keeping each hand at each end of the rack. The skin of her palms were beginning to burn and it felt like her fingers were going to get ripped off from their joints. Still, she tried. She did it two or more times before the wood paneling around the bolts finally gave way and cracked. Then, she was using her right foot as leverage, pressing it flat against the wall, as she pulled at the metal rack with all her might. It came off, sending her staggering back. After she regained her balance, she went straight to the door once more, holding up the metal rack and hoping that it would fit through the small opening.

It did. She issued a sigh of relief. After that, it only took concentration and a bit of patience to undo the hook-and-eye lock and then she was standing in front of the open door, shivering as a cold draft whipped by.  
To get to the relative shelter of the rouka from the separate structure of the bathhouse, she had to maneuver through a series of stone steps that meandered across the garden. However, the intruder had put out the lamps used to light the garden area, forcing her to grapple her way in the dark and grab on to invisible handholds. She slipped on one of the stone steps and fell into knee-deep snow. The instant she hit the ground, she went numb from the cold, the icy wetness seeping through the thin cloth of her yukata like it was nothing. She rose quickly, teeth chattering, and continued desperately making her way to the house.

-

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TBC

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**AN** I need to tell you a secret. Actually, I don't think it's a big secret. Most writers are terribly insecure about their works. Fanfic writers, especially. We're worried about so many things like: Am I going too far with this little offering of mine? Am I butchering any beloved characters? God help me but am I destroying your fragile love for this fandom? That sort of thing. And considering that this fanfic is very likely my swan song in fanfic writing, I would very much like to know if I'm doing something wrong with this story. Perhaps I can remedy it.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

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It was twelve o' clock in the evening when Sano came back. Megumi, sleeping soundly beside the hearth, did not hear him come in. She only realized his presence when she felt someone shake her gently by the shoulder.

"Megumi," he said, his voice husky and a little out of breath. "Why are ya sleepin' out here?"

Megumi remembered dimly that under the thin covering of the sheet, she was quite naked. When she'd reached the house earlier, she had discovered that not only the lights in the garden were out but the entire electricity supply of the house was down. It was a good thing the hearth still worked and after making a fire, she had taken off her wet _yukata_, covered herself in blankets and sat down to dry. She must have fallen asleep after some time and never got around to putting on fresh clothes. Or go to her own room, for that matter.

Now, fully awake, she sat up, clutching the sheet around her. She saw that Sano had also only realized the state of her undress but he pulled his gaze away from the glimpse of impossibly white skin to look at her hard and demand: "What happened?"

"I fell in the snow," she said dumbly.

"What? Why? How?"

She palmed her own face, trying to rub the last vestiges of sleep away. "I was in the bathhouse and someone, I don't know who, locked me in from the outside," she told him. "I managed to get out but the lights were out. I slipped and fell."

He scowled at her. "You could've hurt yourself."

"Sano, how did you get back here?" She asked instead, knowing that the path leading up the hill to the house must be frozen over and covered in snow.

"I walked," he answered.

"All the way here?" She looked at him incredulously.

"No," he said impatiently. "The car broke down. Kenshin drove me up to bottom of the hill. From there, I went on foot."

"All the way up here?" She didn't think she repeated herself.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're a lunatic," she accused softly.

He only shrugged, then shot her an urgent look. "Did anythin' else happen? Did you see anyone?"

She took a moment to register his question, then shook her head. "No, it was too dark. But I think I have an idea on who's behind this."

Sano looked at her.

"Takeda Kanryuu," she stated. "I know it's a leap but I've been thinking about it. He's the only person I know who has any agenda against me."

"The chairman of the hospital? What's he got against you?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Nothing but his job and his position in the company. I can fire him, get him kicked out of the hospital board, or buy him out of the company. Basically, ruin him financially."

He looked confused. "So? How can doing this make any difference?"

"I think he knows about the terms of the will, Sano," she said, trying not to sound too alarming.

Sano took several moments to process this. Then he said, coming to a conclusion, "So what you're saying is, Takeda wants to scare us -- you, in particular -- enough to break the terms of the will. Is that it?"

Megumi had to admit, the plot was slightly wild and slightly incredible, but it also made sense. It was so far the only thing that made sense out of all this mess.

"But I don't understand," Sano continued. "Takeda wouldn't gain anythin'. It's not as if the will states that he'd get your grandfather's money if ya break the terms."

She had thought about that. "It's not about what he gains, Sano, but what he gets to keep. Without my grandfather or me, Takeda Kanryuu is the most influential board member of the Chujou Hospital. He's already the Chairman. If, in addition to that, he gets to be the next major stockholder, he gets veto power in addition to his managing power."

It was a nefarious plan, to be sure -- extremely calculated and full of guile. Not above someone like the 'shifty-eyed' Takeda Kanryuu. And Sano summed it all up for her: "That asshole."

Megumi glanced at him, momentarily startled and strangely amused by his reaction. He was really not the sharpest knife but his sense of justice was…touching. And a little mystifying. She gathered the sheet under her arms. With Sano's calming presence in the house with her, she could afford to be philosophical. "Of course, he could always go ahead and kill me. Why doesn't he? That's the only thing that's keeping me from going to the police with this theory."

Sano was studying her from the corner of his eyes. "How do ya explain the kid?" He asked after a moment. "Ya think he had anythin' to do with this?"

"He might know something," she replied. "Someone could have put him up to it. I don't know. He's not talking to any of the counselors at the Center."

"I bet he'll talk to ya."

He might. Or he'd clam up like he did with everyone else. Either way, Sano was right. She had to try. "We're having dinner with the Himuras on Friday. I think I can get Kaoru to bring the kid along."

"He'll come?"

She shrugged, no longer in the mood to talk about this now. She gathered the sheets more tightly around her, preparing to get up when she felt warm fingers skimming down her arms and gripping her wrist.  
She looked at him over her shoulder. He was gazing at her with that expression she thought she didn't recognize. He grinned then, slowly; it didn't reach his eyes. "I think it's better if we stick together for a while, _kitsune_."

She didn't speak at once. She realized that it was concern, worry, fear, or something akin to those emotions, that made him look like that. He wanted her, he'd said so. She knew it was not just physical desire. Not after that day when he saw her almost get run over by a bus and he held her right here on this floor, his arms trembling. She wanted him, too. And it was not just physical desire either. She could admit that.  
But if she came to him now, if she crossed that final line, she could lose her balance. He could hurt her, or she could hurt him. They might not work together and never be able to again. Who knew how long it would last? A few weeks? Months? They had more than two months left on the will. What if they did not last that long? Could they stand to be under the same roof again? Would she be willing to? She could lose everything.

She could fall in love.

"I'm fine, Sano," she told him as she gently disengaged her arm from his hand.

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TBC

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**AN** Thank you for humoring me. Still, my statement still stands that if there is anything else at all that I'm doing wrong, please point it out. I've already taken into account the suggestion that I should mention other characters more. I'll try to incorporate some characters in the next chapters but, for reasons peculiar to this story, I can't delve into them that much. At the most, I can only use them as plot device -- and then, only SOME of them.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

"Are ya sure?" He asked, breaking the ensuing silence.

Megumi did not turn but by choosing not to do anything she was giving him the answer. Sano was not convinced. Mentally, she pictured him crossing his arms in that negligent manner, eyebrows cocked.

He said, "If ya ask me, I think you're worried."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped.

"Ya know I mean to make love to ya and you're afraid you're gonna like it."

The long and cold look Megumi sent him was almost regal, if it wasn't for the undignified fact that she was only wrapped in a thin sheet.

He returned her look with a challenging grin. "Better hold on to that blanket well, Megitsune, or I won't be liable for my actions."

She shook her head in exasperation and started to turn again. But she changed her mind at the last second. Curving her mouth in a caustic smile, she walked over to him instead, and stopped. Sano needed little encouragement. In an instant, his hand was on her waist, the other cupping her cheek. His eyes roved over her face, searching. She kept her smile as she placed a hand on his nape and drew down.

Megumi kept the kiss initially light, maintaining perfect control. This way, she could explore his mouth as boldly as he did on their first kiss and still have enough sense not to let this get too far. Sano tried his damnest to make her lose it. Not very successfully. He was not the only person who knew how to make the other melt in a kiss. It wasn't until he took her bottom lip between his teeth at the same time pressed her closer so she was brought into sharp contact with his arousal that Megumi realized how foolish this was.

She broke off the kiss, laying a palm on his chest to push him away. But he refused to let her go and instead buried his face in the curve of her neck. He breathed deeply then moved to kiss the sensitive spot near her ear. They both felt her involuntary shiver.

"You want me," he whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear.

It wasn't a question but a statement. Megumi shut her eyes and nodded. There was no point denying it.

Sano straightened to look at her face. "But?"

"The will…"

"Megumi, your grandfather's will has nothin' to do with us wantin' each other."

"But he set this up. He set us up," she told him, wondering if he knew.

He didn't, and didn't care. "So? It doesn't change a thing. It doesn't change how I feel about ya."

She touched his face, smiling gently to take the sting from her words. "You don't understand, Sano. You and me -- it won't work out. Not for long."

They were too different. They got on each other's nerves too easily. If they were to add to that the silent resentment that always seemed to grow on people in a relationship, the two of them together was the recipe for disaster. Megumi ignored the tiny voice that said otherwise -- the same voice that pointed out the fact that for two people who supposedly couldn't stand each other they were getting along pretty well under the same roof. She had managed to convince herself of the foolishness of the idea.

Sano cupped her cheeks with both hands and stared into her eyes. "Megumi, you're worryin' about somethin' that hasn't happened yet," he said. "Now, I don't know what's gonna happen to us in the future. Do ya? For certain?"

He really did not understand. This wasn't just about them. It obviously wasn't when her grandfather had to go through this length to get them together. And out of all things, she hated people meddling in her own affairs. Yet, she had never been this attracted to a man before. Some tiny part of her wondered if it wasn't only because they had been for so long living at close proximity with each other, something was bound to happen. But she wanted to give in to the need, the beginnings of greed. If she did, everything would change. It was a change that she couldn't predict or see clearly.

Sano moved his head to nibble at her mouth. "Stop thinking, Megitsune," he murmured.

Despite herself, she chuckled. It was just the sort of uncanny advice that Sagara Sanosuke would come up with. "Easy for you to say," she said. "You're an idiot."

He laughed. "Yep, and you're smart. We're perfect. You're the _tsukkomi_. I'm the _bokken_."

She shot him a look, amused, incredulous. He grinned down at her and then impulsively placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. It was like a button being pressed. The mood changed. She watched his eyes darken to black as he lowered his head again.

Her initial protest died on a moan. She knew it was madness to want him this way, to forget her priorities and sink into him. His hands were in her hair, rough, possessive, as he dragged her head back for more freedom. Her lips opened against his and the kiss exploded. She only felt herself being pressed against him, his hard warmth seeming to penetrate her very skin. His tongue plundered her mouth, his fingers drifting lower to where the sheet lay, neat, prim and arousing, at her breast.

His gaze met hers and held, suffocating all thought but the knowledge that tonight she was going to step all the way across the line with him and she was doing it with her eyes wide open.

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TBC

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**AN** To know about tsukkomi and bokken, see notes in Chapter 12. You can find Chapter 19.5 at lawlessearth (dot) livejournal (dot) com. It's not graphic lemon but it's inappropriate to post something like that extra chapter on a fic that is only rated K+. I don't want to up the rate either. I figure this arrangement is better. Chapter 19.5, btw, is not integral to the story so you don't have to read it.

That makes it three chapters this week. I can't post anything next week so you're going to have to wait for May for the next update.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Megumi woke up late the next morning to find herself alone in her own _futon_ in her own room. The dislocation confused her for a moment before she remembered what happened the previous night. Sano must have made his way back to his room some time at dawn. The space beside her was too cold to have been occupied only shortly. It hurt a little, she realized, as she disentangled herself from the sheets and shrugged on her forgotten _yukata_. It felt strangely empty to fall asleep in someone's arms only to wake up cold and alone the next day. But, she schooled her face not to reveal it. So when she finally came out of her room, fresh and combed, she looked like nothing significant happened.

Sano was in the _ima_, chatting casually with some people, Saitou Hajime and the female officer whom Megumi had met at the precinct earlier. At the moment, she couldn't recall her name. The conversation stopped when the three noticed her presence. The police officers bowed slightly. Megumi just smiled and strode in, careful to avoid Sano's gaze. He didn't seem to notice anything amiss as he informed her, "I told Saitou what happened. He's gonna take a look at the bathhouse but his partner, Officer Takagi here, wanna ask ya some questions."

Picking up on this cue, Saitou stood up and Sano followed suit. Before Sano left the room though, his eyes caught hers briefly. Megumi didn't know what to make of that look. She had no idea what he was thinking. She recalled they had not even exchanged a single word during or after they slept together. She'd had men walk out of her bed while she slept before and usually she wouldn't care, but this was different. She was never this involved with anyone before. Damn it, it was her own fault. She'd had no business letting things get beyond what they were meant to. Since when did she want anything more from a man, any man anyway? So maybe she had a wary sort of affection for Sanosuke, and he probably felt the same way, but if she allowed this to become more than a practical, uncomplicated affair….

"I hope you don't mind our imposition, Takani-san," said a soft voice, disrupting Megumi's flow of thought.

She looked at the speaker in momentary distraction and said, after a pause, "No, it's no imposition, I assure you." In truth, she was relieved to have something other than her confounding feelings for Sano to think about.

Takagi Tokio. Of course. She remembered her now. The quietly attractive woman with the intelligent eyes. So she was Saitou Hajime's partner. That explained it then: the casual way they talked to each other, the unspoken respect that went beyond being mere colleagues.

"In that case," Tokio began with a nondescript smile. From her, Megumi learned that it was Sano who called and told the cops about the incident at the bathhouse. "Could you tell me more about that, please?" The officer then asked.

Megumi told her everything that she remembered, including how Sano came back only after she was safely inside the house. Then, she couldn't say any more without touching on something very personal. Tokio was making notes on a small black notebook she carried. She asked, "And what did you say the time was when Sagara-san came back?"

"Twelve o' clock. Maybe earlier," she answered, watching as Tokio also took note of that. A thought suddenly entered Megumi's mind and she wondered, "You're not thinking…. Sanosuke has nothing to do with this."

"I'm sure he hasn't, Takani-san," Tokio agreed in her soft voice, adding, "But we're not ruling out any possibilities."

Megumi stared at the top of the officer's head, mute.

Perhaps noticing her silence, Tokio glanced up and saw her look. Megumi distinctly noted that the older woman checked herself before asking, "Takani-san, please don't be offended, but" -- here, she paused as though hesitating -- "what is Sagara-san to you?"

Megumi had anticipated the question but her mind was still blank when it was asked. "He's my…he's my grandfather's…. He used to work for my grandfather."

Tokio stared at her. "I see." She placed the tip of her pen against her bottom lip, an unconscious gesture. "And he…works for you now?"

"He's managing the farm. He lives here."

"You mean, you both live here together?" When Megumi's answer did not come fast enough, Tokio smiled apologetically. "I really don't mean to pry, Takani-san, but it might help our investigation if we have a better understanding of the comings and goings in your household."

"Yes, he lives here, with me," Megumi finally said. She could feel her face going red. At any other time, she would not have found this embarrassing but that was before last night happened. Now...now, she was engaged in an affair with Sano and lived with him in her grandfather's house, and how would that look to other people? But it was really nobody's business. "He owns half of this house," she explained to the officer.

Tokio looked interested. "Oh?"

And Megumi had no choice then but to tell her all about the will, including the caveat that she had to live with Sano for four months or she'd lose everything. But her own suspicions, for the better part of prudence, she kept to herself.

"So let me get this straight," Tokio said, holding up a slender hand. "If either of you break the terms of the will, you'd lose your share of the inheritance, but…. What happens to the house? Does it say?"

Megumi had always assumed that the house was among the assets to be sold at public auction in case the condition of the will was not fulfilled. Now that the question was asked and she thought about it, she hadn't really paid attention to the part of the will that dealt specifically with what would happen to the house. She had been far more concerned with the threat of losing the hospital. She looked at Tokio with renewed respect and said, "Can you hold on for a minute? I'll take a look at my copy of the will."

TBC

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**AN** Thank you for continuing to follow this fic. I write to please.


	22. Chapter 21

** Chapter 21**

**

* * *

**

"Sano gets to keep the house. I lose the hospital, the farm, the money in the bank," Megumi said, handing Takagi Tokio her copy of her grandfather's Last Will and Testament. "But this doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean he's a suspect…does it?"

"I never said he was." Tokio glanced up at her from the document. "Do you have another copy of this, Takani-san?"

"I have a soft copy in my laptop," Megumi replied absently as she recalled all the instances that led to her involvement with Sanosuke. Even when so many of these happened to coincide with recent threats to her safety, she couldn't believe he had anything to do with any of it. She didn't know why she was so sure about that, only that she was. Sano may have been a lot of things in the past but he was incapable of such things. She believed that with absolute certainty.

"Takani-san?" Tokio was calling her name.

Megumi mentally shook her head. "I'm sorry. Yes?"

"Would you mind very much if I keep this for our records?" The female officer asked.

Megumi didn't mind.

After a while and a few more follow-up questions from Takagi Tokio, her partner re-appeared at the _doma_. Sano was no longer with him.

"Sagara said something about his car at the shop. I hope you know what he means, Takani-san."

Megumi tucked her hair behind her ear. She realized that she needed to find some way to make the cops take their eyes off of Sano as a possible suspect. She started by making subtle excuses for him. "His car broke down last night. It's why he came home so late."

Saitou blinked and narrowed his eyes slightly. "The storm last night was pretty bad," he said in a measured voice. "Did Sagara say how he managed to get back?"

"Himura-san drove him," she half-lied. For a minute, she thought Saitou was not going to buy it. In fact, he seemed to call her out on her bluff but checked himself at the last instant.

A few minutes later, the two cops left, with a promise to call her some time that week with their findings. After they were gone, Megumi returned to the _washitsu_ and tried to hold back her scattered thoughts at bay by busying herself with her books. The clock struck the tenth hour when she heard a car arrive. Someone cut off the engine. A door opened and shut. Megumi highlighted a line of text on a page. Sano's unmistakable, long strides. She was replacing the cap of her highlighter when the fusuma opened and he strode in.

He looked slightly windblown and rustic, his heavy coat outlining his broad shoulders. His hair was wet with melted snow, his face ruddy and glowing with good health. "Megumi," he began but she cut him off with a cool:

"I think I made it clear that I don't want to be disturbed when I'm studying." Despite wanting to protect him from the cops, Megumi still felt angry and not a little hurt (she'd think about why later) that he left her alone this morning.

"We need to talk," he said, unzipping his coat and dropping it carelessly on the _tatami_ floor.

She did not look up from the page. "That's funny. I thought that's the last thing you want to do."

"What?" He sounded confused as he sat cross-legged in front of her. "Whacha talkin' about?"

"What do you want me to think, Sanosuke, after you were so eager to leave this morning?" She looked at him then and the bewilderment on his face was almost comical. How could anyone be such…an idiot?

After a moment, his face finally cleared. "Oh, you're talkin' about that." Then for some unknown reason, he grinned.

Megumi got even more riled. A stupid, obnoxious, arrogant idiot. And she was still helplessly attracted to him. "Of course, I'm talking about that," she told him, irritated with both herself and him. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"I tried wakin' ya up," he said in his defense, "but ya were dead to the world, Megitsune."

"That's ridiculous." She wasn't that heavy a sleeper. Was she? Then again, she had never been that tired. She blushed at the thought.

Sano continued, "An' considerin' the last time I woke ya up in the mornin', ya made up all kinda rules that made livin' with ya damn near impossible. I didn't wanna chance it."

Megumi was silent.

"For what it's worth," Sano went on, shooting her a lazy grin, "ya were very irresistible. I can't be fully blamed for what I did while ya slept."

"What," she started to say, feeling her face heat up, but she caught herself. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

His grin widened. "No one should look that hot when they sleep, Megitsune."

"Shut up. I said I don't want to know." She scowled. "And don't call me that."

"What? Megitsune? But ya like it when I call ya Megitsune."

"Who gave you that idea?" Her spine stiffened in indignation.

"Ya did. Last night. In five different ways."

She could feel the heat rise all the way to the tips of her ears. "That is a total lie."

He shrugged nonchalantly. Somehow, his calm infuriated her even more. "Idiot," she muttered.

"I think we already settled that last night."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Megumi closed her book and looked at him. Even though he was grinning in that mocking manner of his, his eyes were mild and just a little wary. So, she was not the only one who felt uncertain.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked after some length.

"Ya mean, other than sex?" He said innocently.

Or not.

"Are you going to continue acting like a moron, Sanosuke?" She lambasted before she started to rise, but his hand shot up quickly and grasped her by the wrist.

"Damn, _kitsune_." His voice sounded amused but his eyes were serious. "I had no idea ya were gonna be this prickly. If I'd known, I'd never have left your bed and spent the entire day just makin' love to ya."

Outraged, Megumi started up again and tried to pull away but he was immovable.

"Listen," he said, his tone earnest and not a little bit desperate. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna leave, I swear. I jus' didn't know what to do."

"So you did the sleaziest thing any guy could have done," she snapped.

His expression fell and his hand tightened on her wrist suddenly, forcing her to cry out. The next thing Megumi knew, she was pressed against his chest, his warmth enveloping her. In an aching whisper, he said, "I'm sorry."

She shut her eyes tightly and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. Her only reply was a succinct: "Idiot."

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN (edited 07/05/2010)**

I have a rule for this particular fic, which is to never go beyond 1,000 words for each chapter. I break that rule once in a while. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Although I like inputs, the fact that you're letting me know that you're reading and enjoying this story of mine is awesome because it means that I'm doing something, if not good, then right by my readers.


	23. Chapter 22

** Chapter 22**

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**

Saitou Hajime stopped the car and turned to the person occupying the seat next to his. "So what do you think?"

Takagi Tokio glanced at him but took a while to answer. "The threat seems real enough," she said finally, adding after another pause, "But frankly, Hajime, I don't understand what this has to do with the case I'm investigating."

Saitou lit a cigarette. "Did you get the copy of the will?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." She fished the document out of her handbag and handed it to him. Saitou scanned the contents wordlessly. While he did, Tokio wondered archly, "How on earth did you know there was a will? Or that this could be relevant to your investigation?"

"Conjecture, Tokio," Saitou replied laconically. "You should try it some time."

"I love these little pockets of humor you have," she retorted with equal sarcasm.

"By the way," Saitou said casually as he slipped the three-page legal document inside his breast pocket and re-started the car, "did you ever make progress with your hospital-hunting?"

"Have I told you how many emergency wards there actually are near the vicinity?"

"If you're trying to point out your quality as a thorough investigator," Saitou replied dryly, letting his statement trail off.

"Well," Tokio huffed, "my people have been working two days straight and we're not even halfway done."

"Go back to the facts, Tokio," he suggested in the same casual tone.

"Oh, are we talking about _that_ now?"

He ignored her witticism. "In the crime scene, there was a lot of blood. It wasn't the victim's. What did the coroner say?"

After some length, Tokio reluctantly replied, "Based on the amount of blood, it looked like a major artery was affected."

"Your guy couldn't have walked very far with that kind of wound. What's the other relevant fact?"

"I don't…." She started to say but then it occurred to her. "The button we found. The sort used in most denim jeans."

"What does that tell you?"

"The button had some blood stains on it. It may have been ripped out of his clothes when the victim fought back."

"More importantly," Saitou added, glancing at her briefly, "it tells you where your guy was wounded."

She thought about it. "Somewhere in the leg area?"

"His groin. Femoral artery," he answered. "There can't be that many emergency ward patients with that kind of injury."

It only took Tokio half a second to figure it all out. "You know," she said, turning to him with a half-smile, "this is why I put up with most of your bullshit, Hajime."

His eyes narrowed but she could see that he too was smiling ever so slightly. They approached a curb then and Saitou eased on the brake. As he shifted gears, he asked Tokio something which she thought came from out of the blue: "What do you know about Takeda Kanryuu?"

"Who?" She had to wonder.

"The Chairman of Chouju Hospital. You've heard of him."

There was a long pause, and then: "Does this have anything to do with my case or yours?"

"What do you know of him?" Saitou repeated the question.

"Top of the food chain. Clean as a whistle. Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason."

Tokio stared at his profile in disbelief. "You're lying."

Saitou glanced at her but quickly returned his attention on the road ahead. "Yes."

There was a brief moment of silence and then Tokio said somewhat grudgingly, "He's originally from Tokyo. I'll have one of my friends from my old department look him up. Satisfied?"

"This is why I put up with most of _your_ bullshit, Tokio," Saitou replied.

She leaned back in her seat and watched the scenery pass by rapidly. In a moment, they were going to hit the main street of Aizu-wakamatsu. Something still bothered her. "They don't seem as forthcoming as one would expect," she ventured.

He kept his eyes on the road. "They think they're protecting each other."

"From whom? Us?" She asked. "I thought we're trying to help."

"Say that to an ex-juvenile delinquent."

Tokio frowned. "You've known them longer than I have."

Saitou let out a sigh. "Sagara was involved with some local gangs as a kid. Nothing serious, just some minor rap sheets. Disorderly behavior, DUI, you know the usual stuff minors get into. Then, when he was sixteen, he got into some really hot mess. Let's just say he's got no reason to trust anyone with a badge."

"I take it the good doctor is completely clean."

"As far as a I know," he said. "Takani Megumi went to Tokyo for college and stayed there for years until her grandfather died."

"So they come from opposite sides of the spectrum," she mused.

"See the attraction?"

She only smiled. "Among other things."

* * *

- TBC

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**AN** Yes, this is late. Sorry. Kinda busy. From now on, you can expect my updating rate to be this slow. Do read and, if you can, review. I'm a writer. I thrive on feedback.


	24. Chapter 23

** Chapter 23**

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**

A car drove into the driveway of the Himura house. Kaoru looked up from the table she was arranging just as Kenshin walked in with Kenji in his arms, holding up a feeding bottle in one hand and a baby bib in the other.

"I think that's them," he said to his wife.

Kaoru turned around to add last minute touch-ups to the set on the table. "Could you go and meet them at the door?" Stopping in front of her, Kenshin gave her a mild look. "I need to finish here," Kaoru said, brushing her fingers lightly over Kenji's stomach. The motion was reassuring and the baby gurgled in pleasurable response.

Kenshin leaned over and gave his wife a swift peck on the lips, saying that everything was already perfect. Kaoru only rolled her eyes, before turning for the kitchen. With a soft smile, Kenshin backtracked to the living room towards the front door. Before he opened it though, he had a chance to look through the window and saw two people get out of the car. There was no mistaking their silhouettes. Sanosuke was tall and his hair style was peculiar, to say it lightly. As for Megumi, Kenshin knew very few women of her stature.

As they drew closer, the light fell on them. They appeared to be arguing about something although the whole exchange looked rather strange. Megumi's precise, lovely features was drawn in a frown, but Sano was grinning. Then, Megumi started to turn away but before she could, Sano caught her hand and drew her back, planting a kiss full on her mouth. Even more surprising, Megumi did not fight back.

"Oh my god, are those two together?" Exclaimed Kaoru from right beside him. Kenshin at once dropped the curtain and turned to her. It was obvious from her face that she never even suspected such a thing. "Did _you_ know?" She asked him, wiping her hands on her apron, her gaze interrogating.

Kenshin didn't know either but for as long as he could remember, those two had always been circling around each other. Now that old Genzai was gone to act as their buffer, whatever it was between them that made them snarl and snap…well, it surfaced to this. "I suppose it only makes sense," he murmured.

"But they _hate_ each other," Kaoru said.

"Doesn't look that way now," Kenshin replied with an affectionate smile. "Do try not to look too obvious, dear. It's possible they don't want us to know yet."

After some moments, they heard the doorbell ring. Kaoru gestured for Kenshin to open the door while she hurried back to the kitchen to finish the _sukiyaki_. Voices soon drifted in from the living room. Kenji let out a shriek. Kaoru cocked her head to one side and noted that it was a laughing shriek, not a pained one. Sanosuke, she concluded, taking off her apron and hanging it on a hook beside the potholders and oven mittens. She still couldn't believe it. Him and Megumi. Two people couldn't be any more unlikely as a couple. It was like a page off a paperback novel. Or bad fanfiction. She was still mulling over the whole idea when Megumi, looking smart and completely unruffled, stepped into the kitchen.

"Can I help?" She had on one of those smiles, the one that made her look cool and distant, like nobody's business.

That smile used to intimidate Kaoru but now, she just looked brightly at her friend. "You're taller than me," she stated the obvious. "I need one of the bowls in there." She pointed at the cupboard that was just a few inches above her reach.

"I guess the Center didn't allow Yahiko-kun to come?" Megumi asked as she went around the kitchen counter to reach for said bowl. She handed it to a grateful Kaoru who then carried it to the stove.

Kaoru explained that although it was allowed for the children to go on house visits during the days, they were required to stay inside the Center's premises at night. "I thought I could ask for an exception this one time," she told Megumi as she began scooping _sukiyaki_ into the bowl. "After all, Yahiko-kun has never been out of the Center ever since he arrived. But admin was most emphatic about it." She studied Megumi from the corner of her eyes, noting the disappointment the older woman could not hide fast enough. Wanting to help any way she could, Kaoru suggested, "If you want, you can come with me. I was planning to visit tomorrow."

Megumi appeared to think about it. "I'm not sure about tomorrow, Kaoru."

"Come on," she urged with her usual cheer. "You've been cooped up in that house with Sano for months, I'm surprised you haven't murdered each other by now."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kaoru could have slapped herself. She stared warily at Megumi but the latter did not notice anything amiss and remained composed. "We've managed to put our differences aside."

Indeed, Kaoru thought. The words were so matter of fact that if Kaoru had not been listening closely, she would have missed the slight change of tone in her friend's normally controlled voice. As it was, she felt almost overwhelmed by curiosity, checked only by her in-born politeness and Kenshin's earlier warning not to interfere. So she tried another tactic. "We could make it into a girls' night out. Can you guess who's back in town just in time?"

"Gee, I don't know, Kaoru."

"Misao," she said, undeterred by Megumi's apparent lack of enthusiasm. "She's back."

Megumi paused. "The weasel girl?"

"I don't really know who started that nickname but yeah, she's back. Flew in a couple days ago. Not only that, seems our little tomboy is engaged."

"You're kidding me." With the inquiries no longer focused on herself, Megumi appeared to relax. The topic about Misao's engagement seemed to casually interest her. "How do you know? Did she tell you herself?"

"Saw the rock myself," Kaoru confirmed cheerfully. "See, this is why a girl's night out is perfect. Swapping stories over drinks, maybe engage in a little gossip, do all the fun things we used to do."

Her friend was smiling in amusement. "Oh god, high school."

"Exactly," Kaoru agreed with a twinkle in her eye. Of course, her ulterior motive was to get enough alcohol in Megumi to make her crack about this thing with Sanosuke. It wouldn't be easy, considering what a closed book Megumi was, but it wouldn't hurt to try. (She conveniently forgot that Megumi could always hold her liquor much, _much_ better than she could.)

After some hesitation, Megumi finally agreed, then Kaoru told her the time and place and it was settled. Megumi left the kitchen first, carrying a tray, Kaoru following not far behind with the main dish.

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN** Surprise. This shaped up fairly fast.


	25. Chapter 24

** Chapter 24**

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**

"Wow, I sure hope ya didna do the cookin', _jou-chan_," said Sano as soon as Kaoru came in with the steaming bowl of _sukiyaki_.

"Don't insult the cook, if you know what's good for you, Sagara," Kaoru retorted good-naturedly. She saw him turn a mock worried glance at Kenshin who only shook his head but couldn't hide a small smile of amusement at her expense. Yes, she'd deal with the husband later.

Megumi soon came back after tucking Kenji in the crib and joined them at the table. "That's a healthy little boy you have there, Kaoru," she complimented.

Kaoru couldn't help but be pleased and did not miss the slightly benevolent look that Sanosuke sent in her friend's general direction. It surprised her. She was so used to seeing and hearing so much antagonism between the two that to see Sano looking at Megumi this way, coupled with the scene she just witnessed in front of her house, it seemed almost….

"Whatever it is between them it looks serious," Kaoru murmured to her husband later after dinner as he brought in the dirty dishes. "Or at least, it's heading that way."

Kenshin only made a non-committal sound and started to head back.

"Are you going to talk to him?" She asked before he could leave.

"Hm, maybe," Kenshin said over his shoulder.

Kaoru had not been the only one who noticed the subtle looks and glances that the secret couple sent each other throughout dinner. The way Kenshin saw it, Sano was the one who took the harder hit. The poor guy could barely take his eyes off Megumi even when he attempted to look and sound casual with the usual banter and normal dinner conversation. But it was not as easy as Kaoru seemed to think. When a guy was hit that hard, it was going to be difficult trying to get him to talk about it. But for his friend's sake, not for Kaoru's, he was going to attempt it anyway.

Fifteen minutes later, he caught Sano alone in the porch of his house. The women were still inside, quietly chattering to themselves. Sano straightened from where he was leaning negligently against a post when Kenshin strode out. He tossed him a can of beer, which the younger man deftly caught with one hand.

"'Sup, buddy?" Sano asked as Kenshin joined him at his spot.

Kenshin had discovered a long time ago that the best way to discuss anything substantial with Sanosuke was to go direct to the point and be as plain as possible. "What's going on with you and Miss Megumi, Sano?"

His friend coughed on his drink, his countenance going bright red though that could have been caused by the beer in his windpipe. "What?" He finally stuttered, looking at Kenshin with a mixture of shock and dread.

"No, you weren't that obvious," Kenshin said, answering his unspoken question. "But I did see you two here a while ago. When you just arrived," he added meaningfully.

"Oh." Sano seemed to have recovered some of his calm although he still looked like he took a hard wallop to the head.

Kenshin sighed and turned to his friend. "Listen, Sano, I really don't want to get in your business like this but I'm worried."

His brows furrowed. "About her?"

"No," Kenshin said. "About you. The last time I've seen you like this…."

But Sano cut him off with a laugh and a shrug. "I was sixteen. That was a long time ago, and it's not up for discussion."

Kenshin knew a stonewall when he saw one so he backed down. He took a swig of his beer, grimaced (he never acquired a taste for the drink) and stared into the dark, winter night. Beside him, he sensed Sano shift. It was followed by a sigh as his friend stretched his long legs and rotated his shoulders.

"Look, Kenshin," he began, apparently deciding to talk after all. "I didna mean to cause ya trouble." Kenshin opened his mouth to refute him but Sano held up a hand. "I know what it was like when I was sixteen. All that shit 'bout dyin' if I can't be with her," he went on. "Don't think I don't remember ya were there for me the night she and her brother left town and outta my life forever. Hell, ya tried to stop me then. Ya warned me. I didna listen. An' I got into some serious shit." He said this last statement with a tiny, self-deprecating smile.

Kenshin remembered. Sano had been sentenced to six months' stay at a facility, more if Kenshin hadn't done something. He hadn't been established enough then, his _dojo_ still new with only very few pupils, but he'd persuaded, cajoled and outright begged. It had been the good Doctor Oguni who'd come through for them and taken Sano in. At sixteen, Sano had been a complete and utter mess but he'd recovered, and Kenshin did not want his friend to have to go through all that again.

"I'm fine, Ken," Sano said quietly.

Kenshin turned to study his profile. His face was cast in shadow but from what he could hear from Sano's voice, self-assured and self-aware, he felt his worry ease a little.

"This thing that I have with Megumi," Sano continued, "it's not like how it was with Sayo. I'm not sixteen anymore. I know what I'm gettin' into. _She_ knows what she's gettin' into. We're just takin' it one step at a time."

Kenshin wanted to believe every word that Sano said. But it was one thing to say that you know what you're doing. Quite another to know what to do once things start blowing up in your face.

"Alright, buddy?" Sano flung his arm around him good-naturedly.

"If you say so, Sano." He decided to trust him on this one.

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN** I have a surprising amount of free time this week and I may not have another in a while so I'm taking advantage of it. Last chapter, I gave you Kaoru's POV and paved the way for Misao's introduction into the picture. This time it's Kenshin's POV as well as some revelation about what Sano thinks and his past.


	26. Chapter 25

** Chapter 25**

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**

"What I would give for a cigarette right now," Megumi mused aloud, collapsing on the futon. After a second, she felt movement from behind her as Sano raised himself, fingers tracing down her arm until he found her hand. Then, he laced his fingers with hers and brought it down to the front of his crotch.

"I got all the satisfaction ya need right here, babe," he growled playfully.

She laughed and pulled her hand away. "You're a class act, Sagara."

He tugged with his teeth at the chord of her neck and she went boneless. "Ya know what they say," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear, "ya scratch my back, I scratch yours."

She gasped and declared, "You're a pervert."

In answer, he rolled her over to her back. Megumi started to laugh again only to stop, her eyes growing wide. Sano had fitted his body more intimately against hers.

"Again?" She asked.

He let his eyes skim her face, then he smiled. "Maybe."

"You're a - hahaha…" She started to say but had to choke back a fresh bout of laughter when one of his hands that wasn't supporting his weight found a particularly ticklish spot just below her ribcage.

He was confused at first, then understanding lit up his face. "You're…ticklish?"

Somehow, his skepticism was doubly hilarious and when he gave her side another hard squeeze to confirm his recent discovery, Megumi finally shrieked and erupted into peals of laughter.

"Definitely not the reaction I was expectin'," Sano murmured in amusement. Then, he shifted, pulling the pillows up against the wall and leaning back, before he drew a still laughing Megumi against him.

The quietly possessive move was not totally lost on her. As laughter finally subsided, she tilted her head back and looked at him. Little things she didn't think she noticed before filled her vision. The way his irises were slightly darker around the edges, the broken, almost aristocratic line of his nose, the sculpted, poetic shape of his mouth. A mouth she knew to be warm and passionate and generous. She traced it with her fingers and said softly, "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, catching one digit playfully between his teeth.

She moved her shoulders. After a moment, she asked, "What did you and Ken-san talk about?" She had forgotten to ask the question a few hours ago when they arrived home from dinner with the Himuras. By the time she remembered, she was already preoccupied with far more pleasurable things as Sano spent another night with her. But now she recalled and though she wasn't really interested in the answer, for lack of a better topic of conversation, she brought it up.

Sano didn't immediately respond but shifted so that he was gently stroking her arm. "He saw us kissin' in the driveway," he said matter-of-factly, "so he wanted to know about that."

Megumi did not stiffen as much as go still. "And what did you tell him?" She asked tentatively.

"I told him that we're takin' it slow an' that he shouldn't worry."

She could accept that, and let her eyes close again. "That's a hard thing to ask of someone like Ken-san."

"Yeah, he's a regular worrywart alright," he said, chuckling.

"Some people think it's charming," she added with a smirk. In an instant, she felt warm fingers take hold of her hair and jerk it until her face came up to his.

"Some people?" He said, dark eyes bearing down on her.

Megumi pressed her lips together. "I don't know, Sano," she began lightly. "Kaoru seems to think her husband's charming and -"

He kissed her roughly. "I'm crazy about you," he said suddenly and the mouth that had been curved into a smile fell open. No, she was not ready to hear that one. She could take 'I want you' and other declarations of physical attraction, but this - this was too close. She wasn't sure she was ready for the consequences of those four words. In one of those rare occasions, Megumi didn't know what to say so she said the first inane thing that popped up while she stared at him with what she imagined to be the expression of a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching car:

"Oh."

Probably realizing his own blunder, Sano decided to play it light. "Then again, I've always had a thing for nasty-tempered, flirtatious, too smart for their own good, older women - "

Megumi took the bait immediately, desperate for a distraction - any kind of distraction - for the conversation to turn away from uncharted territory. "I resent that. Two years hardly qualify me for the term 'older woman,' and I have perfectly good temper."

"As always, I bow down to your better sense," he said with uncharacteristic magnanimity, settling back against the pillows.

Silence descended in the room for several minutes. She knew him well, too well by now to speak of what had happened. She thought about what he said and where they'd gone through with a mixture of pleasure and discomfort. He'd said once before that he didn't know what was in store for them and didn't want to think about it. They were supposed to take it slow and this was supposed to be uncomplicated. Emotions were not supposed to be part of the bargain. She should have known. He never followed the rules and she'd never been involved with someone quite like this. What had made her believe that she could have an affair and remain practical about it?

But she wasn't in love with him. Megumi turned her face towards his shoulder and muttered, "Now, I really want that cigarette."

With a sound that was both sigh and laugh, Sano reached down and pulled the blanket up and over them both.

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN** Here it is, a short update. I've been busy so it took longer than usual. Sorry, but all of that won't change any time soon. You can expect me to post the next chapter in about another month's time.


	27. Chapter 26

** Chapter 26**

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**

The meeting adjourned at exactly twelve o' clock at noon. Four of the six board members filed out into the hallway and headed for the elevators. Inside the meeting room, Megumi remained in her seat. Takeda Kanryuu stood at the other end of the conference table, riffling with some papers. For a long time, neither spoke to the other. And then Megumi deliberately closed the folder that had been placed in front of her when the meeting started and stood up. As she did, Takeda looked up as well.

"I noticed you didn't drive here," he finally said, acknowledging her presence. His next question was stated with barely concealed disdain. "Is Sagara picking you up in that car of his?"

"I don't recall the part where that's any of your business, Takeda-san," she replied bluntly.

"Indeed." His eyeglasses glinted under the overhead lights of the conference room. "But keeping this hospital in tip-top shape, you must admit, is within my area of responsibility, Takani-san."

Slowly, she let her gaze climb up to his. "I'm only looking out for the good of this hospital."

"As am I."

"Are you?"

His mouth stretched into a sympathetic smile. "I understand your cause for concern, Megumi-chan," he said in a more familiar tone, "but we are in such bad shape right now that the only viable solution to our problem is to go public. Majority of the board approves the proposal."

"The by-laws require a unanimous vote," she pointed out.

"That's true." Takeda let out a sigh and ran a brief hand through his hair. "Enjouji-san will return from America next month in time for the next board meeting. However, at this point, it's all a formality. You heard what he had to say over the teleconference."

"About you selling a few shares in the company," she retorted, knowing that Takeda was planning to sell more than just a few shares.

"Proceeds will be used to pay off the loans taken out for the construction of the new wing. It was Oguni-sensei's idea, as I recall, before he, unfortunately, passed away."

"You'll never get my vote," she said quietly.

"There's time yet to change your mind."

"I don't know how true it is that the company is experiencing serious losses and can't pay its loans on time. You never mentioned this in last month's meeting." Megumi did not add that it was oddly convenient for him to bring the matter up now that the four-month period under her grandfather's will was about to expire.

Takeda smiled tightly. "I don't expect you to understand how business works, Takani-san." He closed his briefcase with a snap. "Thankfully, the rest of the board members do, and I have no doubts about their opinion on this proposal of mine." Then he made as though to leave but seemed to remember something as he paused. "Oh, and by the way, the by-laws also state that if the refusal of consent by the other board members is manifestly prejudicial to the interest of the corporation, judicial intervention may be sought. You see, Megumi," he added with a smile laced with sarcasm, "I can and _will_ make this happen, with or without your vote."

Megumi was still seething over what Takeda had said when Sano came around the hospital at a little after noon to pick her up. Sun glared off snow, melting it at the edges and forming icicles down branches and eaves. It was a postcard with biting wind.

"How'd it go?" He asked, only to get ignored as Megumi stalked past him and opened the door. A moment later, he got in as well and revved up the engine.

After a short tussle, they'd both decided that they would eat lunch at the Akabeko first before heading back. Megumi sat with her back straight, staring out at the window on the passenger's side. Sano maneuvered down a slushy side street, cutting through a quiet, residential neighborhood. They didn't speak until he'd reached clear highway.

"Takeda's trying to get the board to sell the hospital."

Sano shot a glance at her in alarm. "Whatcha gonna do?"

"I've managed to get them to postpone making the final decision." She turned the heat down a notch and loosened the buttons of her coat. "But it's only a matter of time."

"What d'ya mean?"

She made an impatient sound. "He's making it seem like the hospital needs the money and that the decision is urgent."

"But ya own the controllin' stocks so -"

"It doesn't work that way, Sano," she cut him off with an annoyed gesture. "According to the by-laws, I can only vote the stocks that are in my name as recorded in the books. But grandfather's shares, which represent the controlling interest in the corporation, won't be transferred to me until one month and three weeks from now, when the four-month period under the will ends."

"The way I see it," Megumi continued, not realizing that Sano had gone quiet, "the only way I can nip this in the bud is by making sure that the proposal never gets approved by the board." She knew that no proposal was ever presented for stockholders' vote without first obtaining board approval. With that in mind, her plan was to delay the board from acting on Takeda's proposal for as long as possible until the will became final. But that was a lot harder to accomplish than she imagined.

Megumi was too busy thinking about this to notice anything else. After a while though, she noticed that Sano hadn't said anything so she turned to him to ask what was the matter. Without taking his eyes off the road, he merely shrugged and smiled grimly. Mystified, she wondered, "What?"

"This is all way over my head. It's obvious ya don't need or want my help."

She heard the edge in his voice but didn't quite understand. She scowled at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying you're right, Megumi. Other than sex, there ain't nothin' I can possibly offer ya."

It hurt. She felt the hurt, but it didn't mean she had to let it show. Her voice, as his had been, was cool and hard. "We sleep together, Sano. How is that an issue?"

"Right again, 'coz clearly it doesn't matter. We share the same bed, we don't talk about it, 'coz clearly that's practical."

She'd told herself precisely the same thing. She'd lost count of the number of times. "Having expectations of any kind would just blow this out of proportion." So why then were emotions clawing her?

"Expectations," Sano repeated with a sarcastic chuckle.

The car felt stuffy and close. Megumi switched off the heat and concentrated on the snowdrift blowing past her window.

"I'll tell you something about expectations, Megumi." His voice was deadly calm. "I never expected that after I messed up my own life, someone would still care enough and take me in. I owed old Genzai so much," he went on, his voice rising, "I never expected I'd ever get to repay my life's debt before he died. When I first met you," here, he paused to look at her, "I thought you were the most attractive woman I'd ever seen. I never expected I'd have this - this, whatever this is - with you." He had enough pride to sound brittle. He smiled. "You see, Megumi, when you grow up with nothing, you learn not to expect anything."

* * *

- TBC

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**AN**

Thank you for continuing to follow this fanfic. Special thanks go to those who almost always leave a review for each chapter. It's the only way for me to know that people are still reading this story. Also, it's the only way for me to know if the story meets your expectations, more or less.


	28. Chapter 27

** Chapter 27**

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**

Kaoru passed out about an hour ago. She survived exactly three rounds of _nihonshuu_ but couldn't get past the sour mixes served at the _izakaya_. Misao was not doing so well either. With each drink, her eyes had grown brighter until they were practically lighting up like lamps. Megumi herself was feeling the effects of too much alcohol in her system though she was better at handling it than the other two. She was, however, starting to get talkative. She'd just finished telling Misao about her living situation with Sanosuke and the reason for it with very little prompting from the other.

"So let me get this straight," Misao repeated, holding both hands up. "You and Sano are…" She made a complicated gesture. Megumi nodded. "Because," Misao went on, "your grandfather put it in his will that you have to or you won't get a single cent from him."

"Yes." Pretty much. Megumi reached for her drink. Above the rim of her glass, she watched Misao chug down hers.

"Wow," Misao was muttering under her breath, "and I thought my _jiya_ is nuts."

Megumi smirked, or tried to with her mostly alcohol-slackened jaw. She'd never known a man who fit the 'eccentric, old character' description more than Kashiwazaki Nenji did. On the other hand, the clause in her grandfather's will could be explained away by his genuine, if a bit misguided (though not that far off tangent), affection for both her and Sano. So really, in terms of weirdness, Misao's grandfather won the contest.

Apparently, she said that out loud because Misao replied, "_Jiy_a's a pervert but so far he hasn't come up with anything this elaborate. Then again, Genzai-sensei must have been on to something because you and Sano ended up sleeping together."

If Megumi was thinking clearly, she'd have let the statement slip with neither affirmation nor comment. But as it was: "Yes," she answered, belching delicately behind a hand. "I wasn't planning to but it was getting difficult ignoring him when we both live in the same house."

"I _know_, right?" Misao gushed animatedly. "You're like so attracted to this guy and you pretend you aren't but it's impossible 'cause he's there all the time and he's just _so good_ and you just want to…bite him or something. You know?"

Even though she knew Misao was probably talking about her fiancé, Megumi was inclined to agree. Unlike Misao however, she never really took particular note of how well Sano was formed. It wasn't until recently that she noticed that, all things aside, Sagara Sanosuke was a very fine man. Tight sinew, taut flesh. A man used to using his back and hands to do a day's work.

He'd been a boyish-looking teenager when he first arrived, the kind who could make middle-schooler girls blush and teeter along in their first high heels if he cared to, only that Sano didn't seem to care. Megumi herself was not paying much attention, busy as she was with school and dating older boys. But there had been a time, she recalled, a brief time when she came back from a bad date and he was the only one home. They'd talked and for one instant she'd thought she'd seen something in his eyes. And she'd thought she'd felt the same something in response. But back then she'd brushed it off as adolescence and forgot about it all together. It was only now she realized it never really went away.

She'd always liked Sano. That was a revelation. And she wondered if, maybe, just maybe (she was afraid to admit it), considering the circumstances, she wasn't just a little in love with him already.

"…so he finally popped the question and what was a girl supposed to say?" Misao continued. "After everything, the roses and the candlelight dinner, 'Claire de Lune' on the piano - I've decided to make it our theme song, by the way, and -"

"Misao." Startled by the sudden commotion at the entrance to the _izakaya_, Megumi decided to interrupt the other woman's rhapsodizing. "By any chance, does your fiancé fit the tall, dark and furious description?"

"Fu - what?" Misao whirled around and followed Megumi's gaze. As soon as the guy Megumi was referring to came into view, she smiled brightly in the way only a drunk could and waved. "Aoshi! Aoshi! Over here! What are you doing here?" Then, because he didn't answer at once, she repeated the question in the same loud voice.

"Misao," the tall newcomer finally acknowledged.

In that instant, while the couple were distracted, Megumi made her quick assessment of Shinomori Aoshi: Tall, handsome, a bit standoffish, which could be part of his appeal, at least in Misao's case because that girl never liked men who were easy. When he turned to her, she noticed the pale-colored eyes, and when he spoke, it was in a well-modulated voice:

"Are you Takani Megumi-sensei?"

"Yes, but I'm not yet a registered doctor," Megumi said with uncharacteristic modesty.

The heretofore expressionless face showed a little emotion. "Do you know Sagara Sanosuke?"

She started at the name and the manner in which the question was posed. "Yes." Out of nowhere, a sick, horrible feeling settled in her stomach. "Why?" She almost didn't want to ask.

"There's been an accident."

Megumi burst into the E.R. a few minutes later. Kenshin was already there. The thought registered in her mind: he was the one who asked Aoshi to get her.

"I couldn't reach your phone," Kenshin explained. He looked pale and visibly shaken.

Megumi wondered if she looked the same. Her throat and eyes hurt. It felt like somebody was rubbing sandpaper on them. Her feet were unsteady, her head light. She couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight, like someone had suddenly shoved their hands in and squeezed without mercy. The thought of Sano in a hospital room full of doctors - she should've been there!

"How is he? Have you heard anything yet? What'd they say? Does he need surgery? Is he okay? Is he - oh god, oh my _god_, Ken-san!"

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN **After this chapter, it's going to feel like I am really victimizing Sano in this fanfic. It certainly comes off that way and I wanted that in part. But not at the cost of you guys hating Megumi. Megumi has her flaws. She isn't perfect. She's not doing any of this to be cruel even though the effect might still be the same: Sano getting hurt. But she's not doing it on purpose. She's also coming to terms with her feelings and I've written her as someone who, even though smart and logical, is a little slow in the emotional department. In her defense, Sano was not exactly forthcoming about his real feelings, too. Although the emotional connection is more or less admitted by each side, from the start, the basis of their relationship was really just physical attraction. Yes, Megumi was aware that it could lead to something more and that's precisely the reason why she hesitated, but Sano was the one who got her to consummate their affair. When you think about it, it's a little unfair of Sano to demand more out of their relationship now that he's found he's having feelings for her other than physical desire. If he's hurt, that's just part of the risk of loving someone. It's not Megumi's fault. As for her, she's starting to figure it out, although, like I said earlier, she is quite slow.

Anyhoo, I'm glad that you are sympathizing with the characters. I wanted them to be human and your reactions are proof that it's working.


	29. Chapter 28

** Chapter 28**

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When the need for the bathroom became unbearable, Sano opened his eyes and admitted that he was conscious. Megumi sat up straight instantly; she had been lounging on the chair beside his bed for the last three hours or longer, apparently sleeping. Perhaps she had been faking, too.

"How do you feel, Sano?"

Whisper: "Trippy."

"Painkillers. It'll run out in a couple more hours."

The room was large and rather well-furnished, finely paneled. The bed alone was ridiculously big. There was also a 32" flat-screen television set installed on the wall facing him. A nice, panoramic view of the city from several stories up. The antiseptic smell told him that he was in a hospital but he had no idea there was such a room. It was either some kind of master suite for the filthy rich or -

"I died, didn't I?"

Megumi rose and for the first time since he woke up, Sano saw her face. There were circles under her eyes. Her hair, usually so groomed, needed a combing. She wore no make-up, not even gloss for lips that looked freshly chapped and bitten through. He had never seen her look so pale and altered.

Or look so heart-stoppingly beautiful.

"You're in one of the V.I.P. suites of Chouju Hospital," Megumi told him. "As soon as your condition was stable, I asked them to transfer you here from the I.C.U."

Oh, that was right. He got into an accident. Except that it wasn't an accident. Someone had drained the brake fluid of his car. He was lucky he only ended up driving into a tree. A minor concussion and his car a wreck were all he got out of it. On top of that, there was an obviously distraught and worried Megumi by his hospital bedside. He didn't stop to wonder why that in itself was a pleasure but he was still sulking from their earlier argument and couldn't show her how he really felt. He had a ridiculous sense of pride. So instead, he touched the bandage around his head. "That one of the perks of sleeping with the owner?" He meant it as a joke but realized, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted it to hurt.

It worked. She looked shattered. Yes, that was what he wanted to see. Was it? "The good news is that you'll be out of here in about a week," she charged on bravely.

A week. That was too damned long. He'd die of boredom. And what about her? She'd be alone in that house. Damn it, why did he care? Even that one time when she was locked inside the bathing house with the heater turned off, she'd been perfectly capable of taking care of herself. "Gotta pee," he mumbled as he tried to sit up.

Before he could lower his feet to the floor, she was by his side, holding his arm steady. "I called Aburakoji-san and informed him about this."

Sano glanced at her and realized that their faces were mere inches from each other. He could kiss her if he wanted to. "Who?" He asked, forcing himself to focus on something else. It was difficult when she was standing so close, her hair brushing his sleeves, the delicate white hands cupping his elbow.

"The lawyer," she answered, apparently unaware of his inner struggle. "The will states that neither one of us can spend more than two consecutive nights under another roof. I asked him if this kind of exigency was covered by the condition and he said that grandfather never contemplated something like this to happen when he wrote the will, so it's alright."

"Oh."

He could have cheerfully strangled her. Every insensitive word said, unfeeling… She was concerned about the will. _That_ was why she looked so bothered. He slammed the bathroom door shut. Fuck, it was his own damned fault. The rules were supposed to be clear and simple. No tangles. No complications. No strings attached. Until he went right ahead and developed "feelings" for her, feelings which, as she'd made quite obvious, were unwelcome.

But it was alright. No real harm done. He'd been around too long to lose his head over a girl just like that. Especially when he never started it looking for more than a simple, uncomplicated affair. Been there, tried that, got shit-headed for weeks. Other than a mutual gratification of lusts, he wasn't expecting more out of this. Was he? That was what he told her but whether or not he was being entirely honest was the question. Because from the very beginning, he had _yearned_...

Whatever. He'd just let himself get caught up by the problems she was facing and the unwavering manner with which she faced them. She didn't need him, but that was okay. Sano turned the tap on, washed his hands and face, stared at his reflection in the mirror, noting the numerous tiny cuts on his face, the blood that had started to seep through the bandage. _Look alive, ol' boy_, he told himself. _Even with scars, you're still one good-lookin' sonofabitch._ Reassured, he turned to open the bathroom door. He'd help her out over the Takeda problem if she allowed him to, take her to bed as often as possible, and that would be that.

When he stepped back into the room, he glanced over casually. She was sitting again on that damned chair by his bedside. Her hair seemed to have acquired a blue-black sheen under the light, her face naked and faint.

Oh, God, he was in love with her. And what the hell was he going to do?

* * *

- TBC

* * *

**AN **I would never permanently dismember or kill (hell no!) Sano, not even for the purpose of serving the plot. And with that ends also my inspired writing streak for the month. Next update will take a long time. No, really, I'm serious. It will take at least a month for me to sit down and write again at my pleasure. So enjoy it while it lasts.

p.s. I'm also quietly editing the previous chapters to correct any OOCs, etc. I don't have a beta reader (you guys are actually my beta readers) so I make mistakes. Please, bear with me.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

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It was in the corner of his mind, but it threatened to take over every inch of his consciousness. He completed and signed his discharge papers, then sat and listened to Megumi's attempting to convince him to stay for at least a week for observation. But it was always there, waiting. It needed only to have an exasperated Megumi leave the room, presumably to give his papers to the staff but really to compose herself, to spring full-blown within him, recreating the image of himself careening uncontrollably down that hill, reliving the feel of wheels skidding on ice, his feet on the brakes….

He stood up from the bed and came to stand near the window. He looked out without really seeing anything. Again, the thought came unbidden and he tried to push it down, to thrust it away from him. Was it possible? Brake fluids iced up in winter all the time. That could be the reason. And yet, he would bet his own life there would be holes in his car's brake line.

"Okay, fine," Megumi declared, gliding back into the room. She still sounded annoyed but said, "I've talked with Dr. Matsura and he's willing to drop by the house in a few days to give you a check-up."

"Told ya I'm fine," Sano told her, turning.

"Now, Sagara-san," said Dr. Matsura who stood a little behind Megumi, "just because I agreed to this…_highly_ irregular set-up doesn't mean you can go out and just do whatever you want. Rest. Avoid stress. At the first sign of nausea or dizziness, call me or the hospital. And don't _overdo_ anything."

"Well, doc, now that ya've managed to convince everyone that I'm an invalid, I'm pretty sure I'm never gonna be able to go to the bathroom without someone holdin' my hand."

Dr. Matsura looked at Megumi who merely lifted a brow, as if to say "what are you looking at me for?" Resigned, the doctor turned back to Sanosuke. "I want to see you in a week, sooner if any of the symptoms we discussed show up. You're to rest for twenty-four hours. That means horizontally."

"Yeah." Sano held out his hand and shook the older man's. "Thanks, doc."

Dr. Matsura smiled blandly and looked at Megumi again. "One week." And then he strode back down the hall.

"If I didna know better," Sano mused out loud, "I'd say he only wants me to come back jus' to look at ya."

"Of course. I look stunning without make-up on and my hair looking like it hasn't seen a comb in weeks. Not to mention, acting exactly like a drunk, crazy woman when I first got here."

"I thought so," he agreed with a small grin. "Although now that you're _not_ mentioning it, that explains why I smell the inside of a liquor bottle." He glanced down to see her watching him with a soft expression on her face, and he couldn't resist. He only had to lower his head slightly. She only had to meet him halfway.

It was a soft kiss but it left him reeling. She was often passionate, often demanding, often single-minded in her pursuit of pleasure. But he'd never felt such pure emotion from her. Her mouth was soft – so soft. He'd never felt them so sweet and yielding. Her hands crept up to his shoulders, her head tilting back. He realized with a pang that she was gentling him, telling him what she couldn't put into words, what she was too stubborn and proud to put into words (_You scared me. I'm happy you're alright. I care about you. Don't scare me like that again. Hold me._)

and he was responding exactly as she'd intended. A quiet wave of contentment rolled over him and Sano basked in it.

Someone cleared their throat. "Are we interrupting?" Saitou Hajime and Takagi Tokio were standing out the hall, both their faces looking curiously expressionless.

Sano said, "Uh, no, we were jus'…. Whaddya want?"

Without answering, Saitou noted that Sanosuke was in his regular clothes instead of the hospital gown and that the bed was made up. "You're discharged?"

"Yeah, jus' a few minutes ago."

"I take it you're going back to the house?" This time, he addressed the question to Megumi. Sano frowned.

"Yes, we're going home," she answered.

"I'll take you there myself." Saitou gestured toward the door. "I might as well look around a bit while I'm there."

They all started filing down the hall, except Tokio, who stayed behind. "She's gotta talk to some of the staff," Saitou explained on their way out.

"Talk to them about what?" Sano wondered without really expecting an answer. To his surprise, Saitou gave one.

"Whether they've had a man with a severed femoral artery come in within the last few weeks."

"Severed fem –" Megumi uttered before she could stop herself. "People _are_ going to remember that kind of trauma."

* * *

- TBC

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**AN** I said _at least_ a month. This is me marginally not lying. Special shout-out to akanke who kept messaging me on LJ to get off my a$$ and update already. Of course, not in those same exact words. XD I am very sorry for taking so long. I've been distracted with the real world and...other things. I can't tell you guys when I can update this fic again but I'm thankful for your interest. I haven't given up on this story yet. I'm just not actively thinking about it. So it'll take me awhile again to come back. Ciao.

Oh, and lemme know your thoughts. Who knows, you might spark my interest again. Now, now, don't be mean. XD I'm fragile.


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

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Saitou Hajime studied the dark stains on the floor with a kind of grim fascination. Watching him, Sano knew that the older man was coming to the same conclusion he had earlier arrived at. Whoever was responsible for this was clever. They left just enough brake fluid in so the car would run smoothly for the first few miles and after that, nothing. Someone basically tried to kill Sano, using one of the most hackneyed device ever popularized by fiction. Now, the only question left was why.

Saitou wasted no time getting down to business. After figuring out that the brake fluid from Sano's car had been drained, thereby causing the 'accident,' he sat him and Megumi down for a talk. It was a grueling thirty minutes filled with undiluted tension and anxiety. The fact was that both Sano and Megumi were uncomfortable taking the problem to outsiders. After all, anything beyond simple trespass was speculation. But things were different now and a lot more serious.

Sano let Megumi do most of the talking at first. Not putting off, he insisted, just preparing. The last time he'd ever had to talk to a policeman on any subject more complex than a parking ticket was when he was sixteen. He'd come out on the short end both times. Now, he was about to discuss his situation and his relationship with Megumi.

His relationship with Megumi, he thought again as he absently fussed with the bandage around his head. That was what really had him mute. He hadn't yet been able to dull the feeling that had raced through him when he'd first realized that he was in love with her and how it was all so hopeless, but then she'd kissed him, and only a few hours ago he'd almost died, and for god's sake he'd been bleeding from his head – surely there was a limit to how much a man could take in a day.

"Are you okay?" Megumi was staring at him and Sano realized that Saitou had asked him a question.

"Sorry. What was that?" Sano asked the cop.

"I said do you agree with Takani-san's idea that these incidents are connected and someone from the Chouju Hospital board is responsible?"

"I can't think of any reason to disagree."

"Do you have any reason to suspect one more than the other?"

Sano thought it through as he'd thought it through before. "Takeda Kanryuu's the only guy I know who's got a stake in all this."

Saitou let out a sigh, reaching for the pack of cigarettes he kept inside his breast pocket. He glanced at Megumi and at her slight nod, he took his lighter and lit one. "I'm not going to lecture," he began. "Still, you two should've told us about this right from the start. Then none of this would've happened."

"At first, we weren't sure," Megumi explained. "And we did report both the vandalism and the trespassing. We just didn't want to fill in the gaps until we had proof."

"Let the police speculate," Saitou declared without rancor. He took a deep puff of his cigarette before he continued, "As it turns out, we've had an eye on Takeda for some time now."

The later declaration surprised them. "'Coz of the will?" Sano wondered.

"No." Saitou leaned back in his chair. "Although it did give us a motive for your case."

"I don't understand. There's _another_ case?" Megumi questioned.

"What?" Sano said, utterly confused now.

"A while back, about two or three years ago, we found a John Doe near Lake Inawashiro," Saitou patiently narrated. "Local media reported it as an accidental death and since nobody knew who the victim was, that was the end of that."

Sano remembered. "Yeah, I think I heard about the body found up in Lake Inawashiro. But nothin' new came up and people soon forgot about it."

"We, however, quietly investigated the case." Saitou gently tapped the tip of his cigarette, letting the ash drop into an old ashtray that Megumi placed on the table. "Victim turned out to be a prominent Tokyo businessman who specialized in making dubious deals. We looked into his known associates and discovered a surprising fact: he was _yakuza_."

Sano stilled. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Megumi do the same.

Saitou continued, "So, we were faced with the question. What was a Tokyo _yakuza_ doing in a place such as this? There could be a number of reasons and we had no time to investigate every single one of them, so we returned to what we do know: the facts. I'm not going to enumerate all of them but suffice to say that Takeda Kanryuu was one of the names that came up. Then I remember that Takeda Kanryuu had shown once up at a press conference with his leg all bandaged up."

Beside him, Sano could see Megumi's expression light up as she seemed to grasp the scenario. Sano only felt his annoyance increase. "So what?" He asked impatiently.

"The severed femoral artery," Megumi exclaimed. "That's why you need the hospital records of admitted patients on that day."

"We found blood on the actual crime scene which isn't far from where the Chouju Hospital is. We have every reason to believe the blood belongs to the murderer. If we find a match, it's enough to make an indictment."

"If you need any help with procuring the records, I'd be more than happy to help, detective," Megumi graciously offered.

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"I still don't get it," Sano announced. "What's all this got to do with me gettin' nearly killed and Megumi gettin' stalked and bothered?"

Saitou's eyes narrowed, whether in annoyance or exasperation, Sano couldn't tell, but he said, "Nothing. These are two separate cases. What little connection there is largely has something to do with the fact that in both cases, money is involved. A _great_ deal of money."

"In our last board meeting, Takeda seemed almost desperate to get the board to approve the sale of certain shares of stocks of the company," Megumi mused aloud. "I think I'm beginning to see why."

"What are ya sayin'? That Takeda's in bed with _yakuza_?"

"Desperate would be the word. The _yakuza_ aren't a forgiving bunch, especially when you've killed their main man on the field."

"Are you taking him in then, detective?" Megumi asked after a moment.

"Once we have a match, we can get the warrant out." Saitou stubbed out his cigarette and rose. "Meanwhile, I don't think I need to remind you not to repeat what I just told you. We want to keep this as quiet as possible. If anything else happens, call me. I'll also have a man patrol the grounds once a day just in case."

"Thank you, detective." Megumi rose as well and helped the lean police officer on with his coat.

Saitou took another look at the room. "Ever think of installing a security system?"

"No."

"Think again," he advised, and made his way out.

"We've just been scolded," Megumi murmured.

"Seems that way." Sano eased his body back on the couch, stretching his long legs in front of him.

Megumi glanced at him. "Are you okay?"

"Tha's gotta be the hundredth time you've asked me that today." He grinned.

"You look a little pale."

"That's 'coz I lost a lotta blood, remember?"

Megumi settled down on the space beside him. There was a beat and then she leaned towards him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. It was the kind of gesture he didn't think he'd ever get from her. Megumi was everything but sweet – flirtatious, provocative, cold at times, selfish but surprisingly generous, loyal. She was never sweet though. Sano had always thought that sweetness simply wasn't in her nature. And yet, as he rested his head on her hair and smelled her clean, earthy scent, he thought that there was no other word to describe this feeling, and he decided then that he didn't care about what she said, about this being impractical, about there being only a few weeks left before the six-month period was over, about her leaving and going back to Tokyo soon, about everything else – this was now.

"I want to make love to you," he said apropos of nothing.

Megumi was silent for the longest time and then she started chuckling softly. "You just say whatever it is that comes to your mind, don't you?"

"Quickly, before I lose nerve."

"You never lose your nerve. In fact, you're the most nerve-wracking person I know."

"Is that a compliment? I'll take it as a compliment."

She smiled. "Besides, think about what the doctor ordered, _toriatama_. No stress."

Sano tangled his fingers in her hair. "I can't think of anythin' more relaxing. Can you?"

She was quiet again as she linked fingers with him. Her hair hid the expression of her eyes but he could see the beginnings of a mischievous smile lift the corners of her mouth. "Actually, I can."

"Uh-oh," he tried to sound worried. "Will I like it?"

She stood up and held a hand out for him. "It's for you to find out."

* * *

- TBC

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**AN** Update! I think story's almost finished now. Maybe a couple more chapters. Thanks for reading, faving and putting this story on alert.


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

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For the fifth time in the span of an hour, Megumi called '_koi koi_' and collected Sano's deck of cards. She gave him a triumphant smirk while he just sighed and settled back on the recliner.

"_Kitsune_, when I said relaxing, this ain't what I had in mind."

Megumi's smirk did not let up. "You just have to play better, _toriatama_. I imagine that should be easy for you, given the incentive."

Of course, Sano knew what the incentive was. He came up with it. The game was _hanafuda_, the penalty a piece of Megumi's clothes for every game she lost. But after the fifth round, Sano realized that he was never going to win. He was too distracted and didn't pay enough attention to his hand.

Finally, after losing yet again, he tossed the rest of his cards on the table.

"Giving up?" Megumi asked, lifting a brow.

"Not part of my vocabulary." Sano extended his arms. "C'm'ere for a sec."

"I didn't know you had a vocabulary." But she did as he asked and came over.

He took her hand – slim, soft, graceful fingers, laced with his own – and pulled so that she was forced to sit on the recliner with him, black hair raining down his chest. He looked up at her and she laughingly said, "What?" But when he held her gaze and didn't answer right away, he could see her start to feel uncomfortable.

This was Megumi, who was afraid of intimacy.

He deliberately looked down, gazing at his own hands running up her arms, cupping her nape. He tugged gently. Her elbows folded under her weight so that her mouth hovered just above his.

"Kiss me, _kitsune_," he urged.

"But you didn't win a single game," she teased.

"I think I'm winnin' this one," he murmured back as he carefully slid a hand under her shirt. He glanced up and caught her gaze, holding it, while his hands roamed further down.

"Sano." Her eyes slowly turned into a dark, smoldering brown. "We can't do this now."

He lifted his head slightly so that his mouth brushed hers for a brief instant. "No?"

She stared down at him and seemed to consider. He could practically hear the wheels turning inside her head. But he didn't give her an opportunity to finish as he kissed her again, his mouth hard and bruising on hers. With a soft moan, Megumi gave in and the kiss spun them both out of control.

"I want you." The words fell from her to linger against his lips.

He would've taken her to bed. But it was too far. He would've taken her slow. But they were both too hungry. With his mouth still fused to hers, he started undoing the buttons on her blouse while she did the same to his pants. He understood desperation. It was honest and real. There was no doubting the frantic search of her mouth or the urgent pressure of her fingernails cutting their marks on his skin. Desire had no shades. He could feel it pulsing from her even as it pulsed from him. It was relentless, unstoppable. He only felt her tug at his jeans, cursing because her trembling fingers made her clumsy. And he chuckled softly because Megumi being clumsy with her hands was funny, and then he wasn't laughing anymore as she found him.

"Megumi." The name came out in a burst of breath, followed by a deep groan.

Every touch, every frenzied caress felt like an explosion of sensations. He felt her hair brush against his bare shoulder and even that was almost too much to bear. He clutched at her as she came up and took his mouth in a deep, greedy kiss. Then, she mounted him and guided him to her. His hands automatically went to the small of her back, preparing to lift and roll her over, but she slashed her mouth towards his ear and whispered, "Let me take care of you."

Sano swallowed through a throat that had suddenly gone dry and watched her rise above him. It was a tantalizing view and she, the alluring temptress offering both pleasure and torment. She started to move and he forgot how to breathe. He might have said her name again, a hundred times over. She traced his face with her fingers as though she might never see it – over the curve of cheekbone, down the slim line of his jaw. She leaned down to kiss his eyes closed and rocked him gently to completion.

In the aftermath of languor, Sano lay quietly, watching the light shift toward dusk. Beside him, he felt Megumi stir. Her body was still warm against his but as she sat up, the distance between them was almost physical. How could that be? When he could still feel her, taste her? She was under his skin, between the folds of his eyes. He traced her spine with his fingers as though to check that she was still there, and the tentative touch made her turn.

He saw her face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't understand what's so different about today."

He knew immediately what she meant. He tried to make light of it. "Well, I almost died, y'know. Ain't nothin' like adrenaline to make sex more interestin.'"

She shook her head. "It's never been just like that."

Her words moved him. He couldn't stop himself. "Maybe thinkin' I died made ya finally realize that you're in love with me."

She raised her gaze to his, then looked away. "Maybe I am."

Sano felt a sudden, violent pressure take over his heart. "What?"

Megumi stood up and started picking up her discarded clothes on the floor. Sano watched her move about the room, confused, hopeful. Did he hear what he thought he just heard?

"Megumi." She paused and even in his emotional state, he noticed that her skin looked translucent under the light, like a statue's. "D'ya have any idea how much you're killin' me right now?"

She finished dressing but for a long time didn't move from where she was. She said, "When I first heard about the accident and I thought that…the worst had happened, you have no idea what it did to me."

Sano stared at her.

Slowly, she turned to finally face him. Her eyes were dry but her voice held a catch. "It made me think – I know I've already done too much of that. But what if...?"

"I love you." There. He said it, and he watched the panic come over her face first, even when she began to build up the reserve.

"No, you don't have to say that." Her voice was sharp and fast. "I don't expect to hear those kinds of things."

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?" He wanted to shake her in frustration, anger even. Instead, he rose to his feet and crossed to her. "I love you," he said again, almost challengingly.

Maybe she heard the laugh in his voice because she looked over, half serious, half embarrassed. "I don't understand you."

"I'm a very simple guy. I love you."

"Would you –" She closed her eyes, then opened them after a moment "— would you _stop_ saying that?"

He took hold of her wrists. "Why?"

"I never expected to get involved with you – this way. That's why."

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, Megumi?" He asked. She did not answer but her pulse under his thumb was no longer steady. He continued, "I think I heard ya right that time. You're in love with me."

"I said maybe."

"A minor point." He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. He grinned slowly. Apparently, it was an infectious one because her lips twitched at the corners as though she was holding back a smile.

"_You_," she accused, "are the most exasperating, irritating, insufferable person I know."

"I think the same way about ya," he said back.

"My grandfather must've been insane for setting us up like this."

"The old man saw somethin' we didn't. That's all."

Megumi was quiet for a long time. Sano studied her, his eyes lazy and amused. "Megumi," he called quietly. "D'ya really think ya can tell me things I've been waitin' to hear and have me not say anythin' back? Doncha know there's risk on both sides? Dependence on both sides?"

She exhaled slowly. "That's what I…worry about."

Sano was surprised. So it wasn't intimacy she was afraid of but what came with it. She'd been hurt before, left alone by people she'd depended on. She wasn't about to let herself get hurt like that again. "Megitsune," he said, using the name he'd made up for her. It seemed so long ago now.

She looked at him and he saw in her eyes everything that he needed to know, everything that she had yet to say to him with absolute conviction, everything that held her back and pushed her to wherever it was she thought was safe and untouchable. And he smiled and cupped her face and kissed her deep and long. "It's okay," he whispered. "I'm right here." He felt her lean against him, hands sliding bonelessly down his back. "And after ya finally get your shit together in Tokyo, I'll still be here."

The soft chuckle she issued was muffled. "My shit?"

He peered down at her. "Your…crap?"

"You're the worst," she decreed, then narrowed her eyes at him in a way that really made him think of the shrewd fox that she was often compared to. "Why are you so good to me, _toriatama no baka_?"

"Because," he snorted, tightening his arms around her. "Without ya, _kitsune onna_, this's only half a house."

She laughed and he joined in her laughter, laughing at themselves, laughing because the situation was funny and because nothing was really too complicated when two people, who couldn't stand each other, fell in love.

* * *

- END

* * *

**AN** It ends. I have to admit this isn't where I imagined the story was going to close, but you know how things sometimes happen without plan or devise. This was one of those times. I thought it was fitting though, what with the title and the rephrasing of the summary. However, I think I ended up making an entire mountain out of the anthill that was this story's subplot. Sorry about that. The subplot was another one of those not originally part of the plan. I also ended up not giving enough attention to the side characters. My main weakness in writing: I lose myself writing about the main characters' relationship to each other that I forget about the rest or only remember them as an afterthought.

That said, do you guys want an epilogue for this story? A reunion chapter of sorts like the one in the manga? Well, maybe not quite like it but something where everyone gets to have their moment. For instance, Yahiko - I truly had plans for his character but I got way sided by other things. Misao and Aoshi also had originally big roles. Saitou and Tokio - I like playing with their characters. They're fun.

Anyway, for now, this is the end. I will perhaps get back to this and write the afterword or something like it, if ever. Your opinion about that will matter but I'm not promising anything.


	33. Epilogue

The crowd gathered outside the courtroom was strangely solemn as they watched the procession of jail guards in blue escort the chained and handcuffed Takeda Kanryuu back to his waiting transport. To ensure the safety of both convict and curious onlookers, uniformed police officers armed with clubs and riot shields cordoned off the area.

Cameras flashed. As all eyes were on the condemned man, nobody paid any attention to the young man dressed in black funeral clothes who casually stepped forward, his arm extended parallel to the ground.

A single shot broke through the air. And a split second afterwards, before anyone even knew what happened, a female reporter who had been standing right next to the intended victim screamed. There was blood all over her and bits of pink blobs, and on the pavement at her feet lay the body of Takeda Kanryuu. The back of his skull had been blown off.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

* * *

The content of our dreams is mostly a by-product of our unremarkable daily struggles transformed by night and electrochemicals. In fretful sleep, Megumi dreamed often of Takeda, seeing the amiable smile behind which lurked the treacherous schemer. In waking life, she thought a great deal about the Chouju Hospital and what she was going to do now that she was its controlling shareholder. At the time she first found out about her grandfather's will, she had a clear plan about the future. She was going to pass her physician's licensure examination and intern for a year at the university hospital before moving on to another medical institution for her five-year residency. She'd wanted to complete all her training and then, and only then, was she going back to Aizu and fulfill her grandfather's legacy. But all that had changed, however. Takeda's vicious ending had left her the interim chairmanship of the Chouju Hospital board and suddenly she was responsible – if only temporarily – for all the business aspects of running an institution of five hundred staff workers, nurses and doctors. The experience, though brief, was mind-opening. And when she finally left for Tokyo three months later than originally planned, in order to earn her M.D., she'd already made her decision.

* * *

The door to the Akabeko opened and Saitou Hajime walked in. Greeting him from behind the counter, Tae started to ask for his order when someone called his name. Saitou glanced over. Sawagejou Chou was seated at a table at a far corner. With him were five other cops, two of them senior officers, while the other three, like Chou, were barely above rookies. Saitou also did not miss the empty _sake_ bottles on the table and the collective complexion of those gathered around it. After a rather boring day of minor traffic violations and paperwork, all Saitou really wanted was to enjoy a hot bowl of _soba_ without having to look at his subordinates getting shit-faced and ass-brained. He had to work with them tomorrow, after all, and needed at least the pretense of respect in the office. So, without saying a word, Saitou very deliberately took a seat on one of the stools facing the counter, his back towards them, and asked for _sansai soba_ topped with bamboo shoots. Chou called him a party-pooper but not too loud or he'd really get it, drunk or not, off-duty or not.

"Well, aren't we social tonight?" Was Tokio's sarcastic remark when she strode out of the next room just in time to witness the whole thing, from Chou's gregarious yet ill-advised invitation to its inevitable turn-down. Saitou quirked his eyebrow slightly, and Tokio took this as permission to sit next to him.

"Oh, c'mon!" One of Chou's companions loudly protested at what was perceived to be Tokio giving them the cold shoulder. "You prefer that sourpuss' company to ours?"

"He kinda outranks all of us, y'know," one of his friends murmured.

"Hail to the chief!" Another drunkenly shouted.

Tokio saw Saitou's face and had to roll her eyes in exasperation. "It's a celebration, Hajime. It's not every day we get to close a case. Let alone something as big as this one. The guys need it. Next stop, boredom."

Saitou made as if to shrug. "I didn't say anything."

"Ah, but you were about to," she said, sportingly bumping his shoulder with her own.

Saitou gave a sigh. "Tokio," he began in that practiced, weary tone of voice he only reserved for the very important or the very dull, "if somewhere along this whole working together thing –"

"It's called being partners," she cut him off.

He blinked slowly, continuing on as though he was never interrupted, "—I ever gave you the impression that I like to know what you are thinking about, you are mistaken. Life's hard enough without some woman telling me what I am about to or not about to do."

Undeterred by this, she told him gaily, "The men are right, you know. You _are _a sourpuss." Saitou did not respond, merely slipped a cigarette from his pack and lit it. Tokio watched him a moment, then, with a small smile, she stood up, leaned over slightly so that her hair drifted near his face, and whispered somewhat: "Saitou Hajime-_taichou_, you also owe me a drink."

Saitou paused but by then Tokio was already walking back towards her table where she was greeted quite warmly with happy cheers and several drunken variations of "Tokio-san." For a full minute, Saitou could only stare down at the counter-top, then slowly his mouth curved up.

* * *

It was past quitting time at the Genzai Oguni farm but a few workers were still up and about the area. A 4x4 white mini-truck had its engine running while crates filled with raw produce were loaded in.

"All in?" Sagara Sanosuke poked his head out the window on the driver's side, speaking to a spiky-haired boy and his red-haired companion.

"Back up a bit, Sano," Kenshin told him.

"What's wrong?"

"Well," said Yahiko, rolling a ripe tomato the size of his fist against his sleeve, "you kinda parked your truck right on a hole in the ground, you big dolt, and if you move forward, you'll get stuck for sure." His voice was so calm, the insult that came with it was almost imperceptible. However, due to his long time acquaintance with a certain sharp-tongued _kitsune_, Sanosuke was used to subtler stuff.

He glowered. "Brat, I'll kick that tomato down your throat, if ya know what's good for ya." Yahiko simply took a huge bite of said tomato and looked away.

Just then, one of the workers called out: "Hey, boss!"

Sano'd never get used to that form of address. He was always Sano the street urchin, Sano the freeloader, Sano the brawler, Sano the delinquent, Sano the idiot, but never _ever_ Sano the boss. Yet, that was what he was now. What a sad, sad day.

"Yeah?" He said, whipping his head about.

"We're gonna call it a night."

Sano waved a hand at them. "Okay. See ya tomorrow."

It took more than two years. Getting the farm self-sufficient again, hiring more workers, buying new equipment (the 4x4 was part of that project) – a lot of hard work, but nothing that Sanosuke was not used to. The _sake_-making, he had to give up; he had no time for hobbies anymore. His strength and energy, which he had plenty but scattered about in aimless pursuits, were finally focused on something worthwhile. Work kept him busy, kept his mind from thinking too much about the glaring fact that Megumi was several miles away and would be for some time. It was hard thinking about that, so he immersed himself in work and tried to tell himself that the long-distance telephone calls twice a week would simply have to be enough. It wasn't, by the way. Some days he just wanted to drop everything and leave for Tokyo. But, there was the farm, and besides, he made a promise. He would wait.

The workers all returned their tools and equipment to the barn and as they were filing out, Sano reached in for the gear stick. He was slowly backing up the car, when something stopped him. He glanced at the rearview mirror but saw nothing beyond twenty meters. It was fast getting dark. He poked his head out again and glanced at Kenshin. "Uh, d'ya hear somethin'?"

Kenshin obligingly cocked his head to one side, listening. After a second, he said, "Sounds like Kaoru's scooter."

That man's senses…incredible. Indeed a few moments later, the double headlights and light thrum of a motor engine came up the hill.

Kaoru had changed little these past couple of years. She kept her hair at the same length as when she was still a girl, tying it back in a ponytail. Her eyes were the same bright jewels, her mouth quick to smile or shout, depending on her mood. She was still unapologetically physical when her temper got the better of her, but there was no denying that motherhood had made its mark. Kenji was already two years old and quite incorrigible.

Kaoru parked a few meters from the house, switched off the engine and dismounted. She looked slightly wind-blown and very, very anxious.

"What's the matter?" Her husband asked when she was within earshot.

"You're not answering your phone!" Kaoru replied, though this was meant for Sanosuke, who was already stepping out of the truck to see what was up.

"Huh?" Sano sounded. "I didn't hear it ring –"

"It's Megumi," Kaoru interrupted.

Sano's expression changed. "Did something happen?"

All three men looked at Kaoru with bated breath. After all, it wasn't often they heard anything from Megumi when she was in Tokyo. Did something terrible happen?

"She passed the residency exam!" Kaoru announced happily, unaware of the momentary dread she caused to her audience. "She's a surgeon now. A real surgeon! That's always been her dream…" Then before any of them could even process this piece of news, the distant ringing of the telephone coming from inside the house interrupted Kaoru. "That must be her," she pointed out. "Sano, go, quick! She's been calling you all –"

She didn't get to finish because he was already turning around and sprinting towards the house. The phone rang a fifth time before he could pick it up.

"Megumi!"

* * *

She stood on the platform, scanning the faces of embarking and disembarking passengers. The train station was particularly crowded today. Or perhaps, that was just her imagination for she did not see him right away. There were too many people between them. After a while, however, the wave parted and for a brief moment, she caught a glimpse of a familiar tall figure in white jacket, lounging against a post.

He turned when she arrived at his side. "Hi." Tentative and out of breath. Even if she hadn't been running, she was certain she still would have found it hard to breathe. He grinned, and it was almost painful how much she missed it – that grin. His eyes registered the same sentiment even as they leisurely roamed her face.

"Hi," he said back.

Strange. They never had trouble with words before. They used to banter all the time, bait each other, play games. Now, even a simple greeting seemed almost too much. Two years. She waited two goddamned years for this. How was she able to stand it? Thinking about him, trying to lose herself in work – it was damned near impossible because all she wanted was to run back to Aizu. She didn't even need that much time to fully realize what he meant to her; she'd known all along.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Great. You?"

"A little tired," she admitted.

"I can imagine." His desire to touch her was apparent in the way he balled his fists and shoved them deep in his pockets. She wanted to touch him too, run her hands once through his hair and affirm with tactile sense that this was real. But like him, she held down the impulse and instead crossed her arms over her chest.

"Best get ya home, then. These all your things?" He indicated the two suitcases she dragged behind her.

"The rest are coming tomorrow by Takuhaibin," she replied.

"Well then, let's go." He picked up her suitcases and walked her towards where he parked his car.

At first sight of the truck, Megumi stopped and smiled, remembering with some amusement the events from roughly three years ago. "What happened to that ridiculous tractor?" She couldn't help asking.

Sano was apparently thinking about the same thing because his eyes were dancing with merriment when he turned to her. "Kenshin's kept it in runnin' condition. I still borrow it sometimes."

"Good. I hate to think the vehicle that earned me my first traffic violation isn't around anymore."

The drive home was long and they spent it in comfortable silence. Outside the window, there were the same trees and fields. Megumi drank them in.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" Sano's voice startled her out of her revelry.

She glanced at him in reflex. "I was thinking… Nothing. I wasn't thinking at all."

His mouth curled up. "Doesn't sound like ya." And after a moment, he added, "Thinking's overrated."

"I missed you, Sano," she quietly said.

"I know. You told me that." Over the phone. Late one night.

"I missed you so much it got annoying."

"You told me that, too."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I love you."

He finally looked at her. "You do?" He asked stupidly. The house came into sight. Sano slowed down until they were all but moving decorously up the hill. He glanced at Megumi again. She didn't say anything more until they arrived. Sano parked, got out, then started unloading her things from the back of the 4x4. Something about routine, about using hands to distract people from the present. Except that he wasn't trying to distract himself this time, just calming himself. No hurry. They had the entire night to talk.

He was putting away the last bag when he sensed her presence. First, it was her scent – sweet, clean, and something dry like the fall of petals – followed by her warmth as she softly, quietly rested her head against his back.

He paused, closed his eyes. He could get used to this. Again and again. No, one night simply was not enough. He wanted the rest of it.

"Megumi." Because he couldn't articulate into words what he felt, he just said her name.

She did not budge an inch.

A soft wind blew past them, stirring their clothes. They remained still. Megumi opened her mouth and whispered something. Sano exhaled and smiled.

* * *

"_Tadaima_."

"_Okaerinasai_, Megumi."

* * *

**AN **Heyyyy! Didn't think this was coming, did ya? Hehe. Actually, I didn't think so either but I was working on the next chapter for Chasing Lights when I realized that I have yet to write the epilogue for this, so here it is. Anyway, the whole point of this section is so that Megumi could say 'I love you' to Sano because I also realized that she doesn't really say it in all of my fics. Ok, it's finally over over like the end. Thanks for reading. Do review if you have the time. Ciao!


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